The Minister-designate for Transport, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah has revealed that barring any unexpected circumstances, the Multipurpose Atlantic Terminal at the Port of Takoradi would be opened to cargo traffic by the end of 2021.

“I can speak to the Glory of God that they have been able to secure the funding, and if it were not to be for the COVID-19, they would have opened for traffic by the middle of the year. But I am hoping that by the end of the year, the first berth should be able to open,” he revealed.

The Transport Minister-designate, who was speaking during his turn of Ministerial vetting in Parliament said the -16m depth of the terminal’s berth would make the Port of Takoradi a preferred choice for major shipping lines globally.

He said the President’s faith in IbisTek, the wholly Ghanaian company with the concession rights for the Atlantic Terminal is being paid off through the company’s ability to bring the world-class infrastructure to being.

“What is interesting about this project is that the president insisted that we should let the indigenous people who have the capacity lead the arrangements of this project. Ibistek approached us and said they had already started something with TACOTEL, a container terminal in Takoradi,” he recounted.

On the Keta Port project, the Minister-designate for Transport Kwaku Ofori Asiamah said feasibility studies conducted by international consultants will be completed on schedule and expressed hope that investors will be engaged for the development of the port infrastructure before the end of 2021.

“I can assure you that, between April and May, we will do our market sounding about Keta Port for prospective investors. And I am hopeful that by end of the year we will start the engagement for the real construction of the Keta Port.”

“If we do not take our time to do proper work, the whole coastline will be disturbed. So I plead with Members of this House that, the stages we are going through are as important as putting up the infrastructure,” he added.

The Minister-designate, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah who has been in Charge of Transport since 2017 also revealed that barring any setbacks, construction for the Boankra Inland Port will start at the end of March.