This year, Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) is targeting a 10 per cent revenue increase over last year’s figure of GHC300 million, Marketing and Corporate Affairs Manager Kumi Adjei-Sam has disclosed.

He said the projection is based on the expected increase in traffic volume this year, and also prudent measures by management to reduce operational and administrative costs in a bid to increase revenue generation.

“General performance last year, including our finances, was impressive. We exceeded our budget by 20 per cent and we hope to build on the success story this year as we push to increase our revenue by 10 percent. Management has also advised all staff to ensure a high level of efficiency in our service delivery to clients,” Mr. Adjei-Sam told the B&FT.

On how much the Authority paid to government in taxes last year, Mr Adjei-Sam said: “We pay 25 per cent of our profits in taxes to government; so the higher our profit, the higher the tax we pay.

Last year, the Authority paid a total of GHC 18 million in taxes to government. In 2012, traffic volume rose by 7 per cent, rising from 15.7 million tonnes in 2011 to 16.8 million tonnes in spite of the cautious attitude by some businessmen due to the December 7 elections.

He said there are calls from larger vessels to berth at the ports, and that the trend is expected to pick up this year.

“Last year for instance, we received several requests from large vessels to berth our port,a nd some had to divert to other ports. The country’s current positive economic dispensation is attracting investors, so there is a need to strategise in order to handle the rising traffic situation,” he added.