Boankra Aborigines Aggrieved Over Abandoned In-Land Port Project
The aborigines and residents of Boankra in the Ashanti Region are aggrieved over the abandonment of the Boankra In-Land port project for so many years.
Speaking to the media, the Assemblyman for the Boankra Electoral Area, Hon. Samuel Fordjour lamented that the project that was initiated by former President John Agyekum Kufuor and later attended to by President Akufo-Addo by cutting sod for it on the second time in November 2020, has not been given due recognition.
The Assembly member narrated that, some contractors came to the site to work recently but vanished within a short time and upon engagement with the MP for the Ejisu Constituency and Deputy Minister of Finance, Hon. John Ampontua Kumah, he was told that the Korean Company has revoked the US$330 million contract with the Ghanaian government.
For this reason, new arrangements have been instigated to hand over the contract to a newly found American company to see to the commencement of the project.
In spite of the reason indicated by Hon. John Kumah, the Assemblyman expressed his displeasures with the current Akufo-Addo led government for not walking the talk of its pledges to the people of Boankra and Asanteman as a whole. He reiterated that in all of these, no official communique or information has been released to make them know why the project has been ignored whatsoever by authority. He stated emphatically that natives and residents of Boankra are furious and are not willing to tolerate further promises and engagements from authorities because they have been taken for granted and neglected for so long.
The idea of the Boankra Integrated Logistics Terminal project has been in the pipeline since the days of the Government of the 2nd President of the 4th Republic, His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor. In attempting to bring it to fruition, it encountered a number of challenges, a significant one being the exit of the NPP government in 2009.
The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo, has cut the sod for the commencement of work on the US$330 million Boankra Integrated Logistics Terminal project, prevalently referred to as the Boankra Inland Port Project, which has been on the drawing board for some eighteen (18) years.
“However, in view of its considerable socio-economic potential, this project was one of the pledges made in the NPP’s 2016 Manifesto, with the commitment to ensuring that it saw the light of day,” President Akufo-Addo said.
He continued, “It is, thus, heart-warming that, after eighteen (18) years since the conception of this project, work is now set to begin after the conclusion of all financial, contractual, legal, parliamentary and regulatory matters and approvals. The project period is three (3) years.”
Cutting the sod for the construction of the Port on Thursday, 5th November 2020, the President explained that the Boankra Inland Port project has been initiated to provide service to importers and exporters in the middle and northern parts of the country, and also to act as a major conduit for the efficient transportation of transit traffic to and from our adjoining landlocked countries of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.
After completion of the terminal, it will be fitted with an inland clearance depot, customs bonded and limitless estates, commercial areas such as banks, offices, and trading facilities, vehicle parking areas, light industrial areas, and an administration complex.
The Project will also offer significant employment opportunities for both skilled and unskilled labour during the two phases of construction and operation. Beyond the creation of jobs, there are other adjuvant small and medium-scale businesses that will be located within the enclave to support the operations of the Terminal.
Source: Effah Mensah William
