The National Draft Policy Bill on Public Private Partnership (PPP), will soon be laid before Parliament, for consideration, the Director of the Public Investment Division (PID) of the Ministry of Finance, Mrs. Magdalene Apenteng, has assured.
Mrs. Apenteng gave this assurance at the third Global Public Private Partnership (PPP) conference held on the theme, ‘Harnessing local opportunities, international expertise and resources to accelerate Ghana’s PPP agenda,” at Takoradi.
The objectives of the PPP is to encourage and facilitate investment by the private sector, by creating an enabling environment for PPPs, encourage indigenous Ghanaian private sector participation and transparent institutional arrangements for competitive tendering of PPP projects.
Mrs. Apenteng said the Project Development Facility (PDF) and the Viability Gap Scheme (VGS) always ensured that projects were functionally viable.
Some of the projects, she mentioned, include the Takoradi port expansion, the Accra-Takoradi Highway and the Boankra Inland Port project.
On the Takoradi Port project, she indicated that the country’s second deep water port, which handled 62 per cent of national exports and 30 per cent of maritime cargo and main export like cocoa, bauxite, timber and manganese, had an estimated injection of $357million with the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) providing $301 million for infrastructure.
A private operator also injects $56million into the project, which aims at providing supports in exploration and production activities for oil and gas fields in the Western Region.
The Director of PID mentioned that the Dry Bulk Terminal project would see the projection of the northern side of the port with three specialised bulk berth with the Ghana Ports and Harbour Authority (GPHA) responsible for building, planning, managing and maintaining, operating and negotiating the concessions agreement.
The 245km Accra-Takoradi highway project, is part of the Trans West African Coastal highway from N1 to Axim bypass and would enhance movement of goods like agricultural produce and export commodities, as it served major towns with over four million people and also the productivity and capacity of the Takoradi Port, she said.
The Boankra Inland Port and Eastern Line Railway Line project, Mrs. Apenteng said, was an inland extension to the Tema Port, to make railway efficient, decongest the eastern port, enhance Ghana’s role as a transit corridor, feed traffic from other modes of transportation, improve service to customers and reduce cost.
“The 330km rail track will be provided with rolling stock station upgrades, signaling and communication equipment, while the inland port will have shippers and freight forwarders office, warehouse, commercial buildings, customs co-ordination protocols, customs clearance and procedures and controls. The Project pre- feasibility report was approved in July 2015, while contract finalisation is due in June 2016.The inland port has estimated a cost of $150million and railway line 1.5billion, with GOG 20 per cent construction grant of $211million,” she added.
The Chief Executive Officer of C-NERGY Ghana Limited, main sponsors of the conference, Mr. Michael Cobblah, said PPP aimed at addressing infrastructure gaps and propel the economic development of the country, noting that, the Accra Metropolitan Assembly had initiated about 12 projects through PPP.
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