Government to mobilise funds for Boankra Inland Port completion
The Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr. Frank Amoakohene, says the government is rallying key sectors to mobilise funding to complete the stalled Boankra Integrated Logistics Terminal in the Ashanti Region.
Dr. Amoakohene gave the assurance after touring the project site at Boankra in the Ejisu Municipality with members of the Ashanti Regional Security Council (REGSEC). He described inadequate funding as the principal obstacle to completion and stressed that government would not allow the strategic project to be abandoned.
“It will be a multi-sectoral project which will rally a lot of stakeholders and benefit a lot of institutions. Our role as government is to rally these sectors together with the Finance Minister and other institutions and see how we can get funding to support the contractor,” Dr. Amoakohene said.
According to the contractor, JUSTMOH Construction Limited, about $165 million is required to complete the operational phase of the project. The company has committed to completing that phase in record time once the funds are secured.
Phase one of the project, which will make the port functional, is currently about 65 percent complete, but work has slowed as the contractor awaits funding to execute outstanding works. A tour of the site revealed that key facilities, including the bonded warehouse, mechanical workshop and fire station, are nearing completion, while major civil works and paving of the Phase One yard to withstand heavy cargo pressure have largely been done.
The multi-sectoral financing approach has become necessary following the government’s takeover of the project after the original concessionaire failed to effectively execute its responsibilities. For the past 18 months, the government has also failed to honour its financial obligations for construction of the facility.
“We have initiated a lot of engagements, for which reason we went to the Asantehene, the President, the Transport Minister, among others, and such engagements will continue,” Dr. Amoakohene added.
The 308-million-dollar terminal, located near Kumasi, is designed to serve as a major inland logistics hub linking the Tema and Takoradi seaports to Ghana’s middle and northern regions, as well as to landlocked neighbours including Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. When operational, it is expected to ease congestion at the coastal ports, reduce cargo transit costs and position Ghana as a premier multimodal trade hub in West Africa.
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