GPHA Must Fund Boankra Inland Port – Otumfuo
The King of the Asante Kingdom, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has stated that the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) remains the sole financial hope for the stalled Boankra Integrated Logistics Terminal, popularly known as the Boankra Inland Port.
According to His Majesty, the GPHA stands as the most viable state institution with the capacity and mandate to inject the needed resources to bring the terminal to fruition.
“No matter what, we will get the money from the GPHA,” Otumfuo said, while chronicling the inception of the project during the administration of former President John Agyekum Kufuor and the numerous hurdles it has faced under subsequent governments.
Otumfuo thereby called for a mutually beneficial partnership agreement between the Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA) and the GPHA to advance the project.
His Majesty stressed that a unified operational strategy between both state institutions is essential to resolve funding bottlenecks and streamline project execution.
“Engage the GPHA on the funding and, in return, give them shares in the port once completed. We have to stop the English-speaking and confront the issues on the ground. We need practical solutions to this. Let GPHA’s investment be converted into equity,” the King directed.
With this proposed funding structure, Otumfuo expressed optimism about soon commissioning the first phase of the project, which encompasses the construction of primary storage facilities, a security zone, access roads, and the main port terminal operational area.
Railway Infrastructure
Acknowledging plans to link the facility with a modern rail network, Otumfuo proposed that the GSA and the GPHA secure a joint long-term loan facility structured over several decades.
His Majesty noted that once the inland port becomes fully operational, revenue generated from freight and terminal services would comfortably service the debt.
Courtesy Visit
The Asantehene made these remarks when the Board of Governors and Management of the Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA) paid a courtesy call on him at the Manhyia Palace to seek his guidance and intervention to complete Phase One of the project.
In his remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of the Authority, Prof. Ransford Gyampo, disclosed that the primary contractor had threatened to demobilise from the site due to mounting financial constraints.
“Your Majesty, if the contractor leaves the site, it will cost the nation significantly more to bring them back,” Prof. Gyampo warned.
The visit also served as an official introduction of the newly constituted GSA Board of Governors to the Asantehene. The delegation included Mr Mike Allen Hammah (Chairman), Prof. Ransford Gyampo (CEO), Brig. Gen. Paul Seidu Tanye-Kulono (Board Member), and Mrs Ewurabena Aubynn (Board Member).
About the Project
The Boankra Integrated Logistics Terminal is designed to link the maritime ports of Tema and Takoradi to the middle and northern belts of Ghana, as well as landlocked Sahelian neighbours including Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.
Conceived as a dry port integrating unimodal and intermodal transport operations, the terminal aims to ease heavy congestion at Ghana’s coastal seaports and significantly boost regional transit trade.
Story by Hajara Fuseini
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