The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) has reaffirmed its determination to build the Keta Port and said it will deliver to the expectation of the public.

Mrs Esther Gyebi-Donkor, the General Manager, Marketing and Corporate Affairs, GPHA, appealed to the media to support the works of strategic state institutions to achieve positive results.

She urged the media to contact the GPHA on issues for clarification instead of some media houses publishing one-sided stories, which ended up creating confusion in the public space.

“Let’s work together in 2023 to educate and inform the public truthfully,” she said.

Mrs Gyebi-Donkor told the Ghana News Agency that the GPHA considered the media as a strategic partner and, therefore, had opened its doors to provide them with information on its operations.

“We will continue to proactively engage the media in 2023, we also expect reciprocal gestures from the media. As part of our proactive media engagement strategy the GPHA will organise some training sessions to keep them well-informed on the operations of the Port,” she said.

Mr Michael Luguje, the GPHA Director-General, described the Keta Port as a strategic project of the state, therefore, the necessary procedures required for building such a facility must be followed to the letter.

“Building a port is a meticulous process, it has a life cycle, which includes feasibility studies and analysis before the actual construction, and an Executive Instrument must be signed by the President,” he said.

Mr Luguje said a lot of progress had been made including feasibility studies, stakeholder engagements, and an environmental assessment.

An advert for the expression of interest had also been published and a number of proposals received, which had been reviewed to select the best options.

He said the Director of the Keta Port was appointed to coordinate all the processes needed to get the construction underway.

Mr Luguje said the management of GPHA would not be pressurised into rushing the construction roadmap, adding; “It took about 10 years to get the Tema Port constructed.”

“The Tema Port was constructed small and expanded with time. We don’t have to rush the Keta Port project, there is the need to go through all the processes”.

The Keta port, which would be the third seaport in Ghana after the Tema and Takoradi ports, has received public bashing after the appointment of a director even though actual construction was yet to take off.