TDC Ghana Limited has reaffirmed its statutory mandate to plan, lay out and develop the Tema area, saying its development responsibilities remain distinct from the regulatory and municipal functions of the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA).

The clarification follows statements attributed to the TMA concerning the ongoing Community One, Site Three infilling housing project, over which the two institutions appear to hold differing positions.

In a press statement dated August 14, 2026, TDC said its mandate to plan, lay out and develop Tema predated the establishment of the local government authority and had not been transferred to the Assembly.

It said the Tema Acquisition Area, originally acquired by the State for the development of the new Tema township and port, was placed under TDC’s management and development framework.

According to TDC, it was established in 1952 under the Tema Development Corporation Ordinance, 1952, to plan and develop the new Tema township and port and was entrusted with approximately 63 square miles of land subsequently known as the Tema Acquisition Area.

It said the 1989 amendment to the Tema Development Corporation Instrument, 1965 (L.I. 469), transferred certain municipal functions to the then Tema District Assembly, including the maintenance of roads, public buildings, markets and sewerage systems, but did not transfer its core development mandate.

TDC said its principal statutory object remained to “plan, lay out, and develop the Tema area,” while retaining powers relating to housing schemes and the development of industrial and commercial sites.

It therefore urged stakeholders to distinguish between TMA’s metropolitan and regulatory responsibilities and TDC’s planning, land development and housing mandate.

The company acknowledged that TMA had statutory responsibilities for physical planning, development control and municipal administration within its jurisdiction.

However, it said those responsibilities must coexist with TDC’s separate statutory and proprietary interests within the Tema Acquisition Area.

“TDC does not dispute that TMA is a statutory local government authority with statutory responsibilities for physical planning, development control and municipal administration within its jurisdiction,” the statement said.

It said the issue was therefore not whether TMA had a mandate, but how that mandate should operate alongside TDC’s statutory responsibilities.

TDC further pointed to a long-standing arrangement under which it and the assemblies within the Tema Acquisition Area coordinated their respective functions.

According to the company, TDC and the Assembly established a Joint Technical Evaluation Committee following the 1989 amendment to process development permit applications and manage potential overlaps between their responsibilities.

It said the arrangement reflected an institutional understanding that differences between the two entities should be addressed through consultation, technical coordination, and mutual recognition.

TDC also said its conversion into a limited liability company in 2017 did not abolish its original development functions.

Rather, it said the conversion preserved the functions of the former Tema Development Corporation while expanding its mandate to include land acquisition for real estate development and the planning, development and construction of towns and cities in and outside Ghana.

The company further stated that its lease over the Tema Acquisition Area, originally granted for 125 years from April 1, 1955, had recently been renewed for another 125 years effective January 1, 2024.

It said the arrangement reinforced its continuing interest in the management and development of land within the Tema area.

On the current disagreement, TDC said the issue should not be reduced to a contest over which institution had the superior mandate.

It called for inter-agency collaboration to resolve the differences and allow the redevelopment of Tema to proceed.

The company said the Community One, Site Three project should be considered within the broader objective of redeveloping and renewing Tema, with benefits extending beyond the immediate community.

It said a better-planned and sustainable Tema would strengthen housing delivery, urban infrastructure, economic activity and Ghana’s wider development agenda.

TDC said it remained committed to constructive engagement to resolve the differences, stressing that “Tema’s redevelopment is bigger than TDC and bigger than TMA.”