Ghana is the beneficiary of a new container terminal at its main port of Tema (right) with a water depth of 10-11 metres and three gantry cranes.
The consortium operating the terminal includes APM Terminals and the Bollore Group. The concession has brought the expected benefits of reducing berth waiting time which was up to 72 hours and sometimes longer down to 24-48 hours. Cargo turnaround time is better, but costs are still expensive, says Mark Peveret, manager of a local liner agency. However, he notes that hidden costs have come down and it is no longer necessary to find and pay a forklift truck driver to move a container. Peveret says it is customs clearance where problems continue. Despite the advent of container scanning facilities, and the concept of allocating Red-Amber-Green status to boxes where green allows immediate clearance and red requires a full inspection 100% of cargo is still incurring inspection, which adds serious delays to clearance. Equally, even though a computer has been installed, customs procedures still require laborious processes. Peveret adds that when paperwork is received in time, cargo can be cleared within two to three days. However, when paperwork is late, it often takes 21 days to get cargo assessed for duty and the duty paid.
The port of Tema has been the beneficiary of additional hinterland traffic to Burkina Faso, due to the problems in neighbouring Cote D'Ivoire. This, coupled with the project cargo generated by the investment in the mining industry in Burkina, are growth opportunities, provided Ghana can streamline its customs, border procedures and the many police checkpoints along the route.
