Pay attention to rail sector to boost ports’ potential - Capt. Awuvri

First Director General of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), Group Capt. Edward Alexander Awuvri, has indicated that an improved railway system could help boost the economic impact of the maritime sector.

Speaking to the GPHA’s Eye on Port on the sidelines of an event to mark 30 years of the establishment of the authority, Group Capt. Awuvri who championed the merger that led to the establishment of the GPHA in June 1986, applauded the successes that has been chalked by the authority thus far but lamented the absence of an efficient rail transport system to augment efforts at positioning the maritime sector as the driver of the national economy.

Recounting his experience prior to the merger, he said the road was quite bumpy as some individuals were against the merger which he eventually championed for a good course.

He lauded the current progress that is being chalked at the country’s ports but admitted that the full economic impact of the sea trade sector could be enhanced with an efficient rail system.

The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority was formed on June 1986 as a result of a merger of three companies; the Ghana Port Authority, the Ghana Cargo Handling Company, and the Takoradi Lighterage Company Limited, under PNDC Law 160.

The idea was to enable the authority to contract loans to rehabilitate the country’s ports which were operating in an old-fashioned state.

Meanwhile, the Director General of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, Richard Anamoo has met management, staff and union leaders of the Authority to mark the 30 years’ anniversary on the 26th of June, 2016.

Richard Anamoo used the occasion to pay glowing tribute to former director generals and hardworking staff who in diverse ways have contributed immensely to the massive transformation currently taking place at the ports.

He recounted the revolutionary days where the port had to undergo massive leadership changes.