Tema, April 8, GNA - Mr Wisdom Segbefia, the General Manager in charge of Corporate Planning at the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, has said it was important to address operational challenges facing the ports if they were to attain a regional hub status in West Africa.

These challenges, he said, include infrastructure capacity constraints, inadequate funds for development, inadequate space for development and cumbersome cargo clearing procedures. Speaking a day's Continuing Professional Development programme organised by the Tema branch of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport for its members Mr Segbefia said large volumes of uncleared cargoes, congestion by trucks and lack of competition in the stevedoring business due to cargo allocation were the other challenges faced by Port authorities.

He appealed to the government to inject capital into the operations of the two major Ports in the country. Mr Segbefia, whose topic was: 93Promoting Ghana Ports as a Regional Hub," said GPHA had the potential of developing the Port of Tema into a Regional Container Hub and the Takoradi Port into a regional oil and gas services hub.

He said if challenges facing the Ports were addressed, they would be in a position to provide world class services. Speaking on 93Current Developments in Ghana's Oil Fields" Mr Gayheart Edem Mensah, the Communications Manager of Tullow Oil Ghana, said the Jubilee Project, a partnership among six oil companies, held prospects for the development of Ghana's infant oil industry. In response to a question about re-location of people, Mr Mensah said drilling was being carried out off-shore, therefore the question of moving people did not arise.

He said if oil and gas drilling had been on land, then it would have been necessary to move people away from the oil field and relocate them elsewhere.

"The Jubilee Oil Field is located 60 kilometres off shore so the question of resettling people does not come in," Mr Mensah told the questioner.