Takoradi Port Readies To Attract More Containers

The Director of the Port of Takoradi, Peter Amo Bediako, says the port is collaborating with its partners to position itself to attract more container traffic.

Speaking to journalists recently, he said the Takoradi Port, as at the end of November 2023, recorded a total port traffic of 7.1 million metric tons as against 6.7 million metric tons in 2022 representing an increase of 5 per cent.

According to Mr. Bediako, “We are collaborating with Ibistek and other partners to ensure that the new container terminal at the port, which has had its first phase completed, is operationalised by the end of the first quarter of 2024.”

He mentioned that the move would help enhance the port container handling capabilities to boost trade and strengthen its position as a major maritime hub in the West African sub-region.

“Meanwhile, the target of the port at the end of December last year was to reach 7.7 metric tons of traffic,” he added.

He indicated that the port also recorded a little over 2.9 million metric tons of manganese export traffic as at November 2023 as against 2.8 million metric tons recorded in 2022.

“Takoradi also recorded some significant increase in Bauxite export traffic from 473,000 in 2022 to 1.08 million metric tons in 2023, representing an increase of 129 per cent.”

“Over the years the port has been able to handle the only 5 percent of the domestic traffic which has even reduced to about 3 percent,” he revealed.

He said as at the end of November, 2023, the port recorded 25,808 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers as against 27,900 TEUs in 2022, representing a diminish of 7.46 per cent. Meanwhile, the target for last year was 38,000 TEUs.

“However, vessel calls at the port decreased from 856 in 2022 to 801 as at the end of November 2023,” he pointed out.

He said the management and staff of the port would persist to cooperate and strengthen its relationship with the media for enhanced service delivery.