APM Terminals says the construction of the new US$1.5 billion port and logistics hub at Tema will have huge benefits for the Ghanaian economy when it opens in 2019.
The port of Tema handles about 70 per cent of Ghana's seaborne freight traffic and serves as a gateway for the landlocked countries of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.
As part of the port master plan, APM Terminals Inland Services Africa has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ghanaian Government and non-profit road safety organisation Amend to ensure port access roads and highways that will handle the inland transportation are safe and able to handle increased traffic flow.
Africa has the world's highest road traffic injury rates, and road traffic injury is the leading cause of death for children over five years old.
The port expansion project, which began in October 2016, will treble Tema port's traffic of one million TEUs.
A dredged 19-metre-deep port access channel, a new 1.4-kilometre-long quay for four container berths (with a 16-metre draught) and a four-kilometre-long breakwater will enable the expanded port to accommodate some of the world's largest container ships, and improve cargo-handling services and capacity. China Harbour Engineering Company is the marine contractor.
