|
Mr. Chairman,
Colleague Ministers,
Moderator,
Chief Directors and Directors Present,
Staff of MDAs,
Members of the Press,
Ladies and Gentlemen;
It is indeed a great pleasure for me and a delight to join the discussions at the 3rd in the series of Ghana's Policy fair dialogue.
As you may be aware, the objective of these policy fairs is to bring all MDA's and MMDA's together in an interactive session with the public and to provide an avenue for them to present to the general public their policies, programmes and projects, and also to gather feedback from the people to assist Government initiatives in the Better Ghana Agenda.
In my presentation, I shall provide you with the relevant information in respect of the transport sector particularly, what Government has done so far and efforts being put in place to address the numerous challenges faced by the transport sector.
Role of Transport in Economic Development
Mr. Chairman,
The Transport Sector plays a crucial and significant role in promoting trade and facilitating socio-economic growth and development in any nation. An Efficient and Effective transport infrastructure and services are therefore crucial for economic development as well as essential for reaching world markets, strengthening global integration and attracting foreign investment.
Role of Ministry of Transport
Mr. Chairman,
It is important to note that two Ministries oversee the development of the transport sector in Ghana. These are the Ministry of Transport that is responsible for all modes of Transport except road infrastructure which is the responsibility of the Ministry of Roads and Highways.
My presentation will therefore focus on the responsibility of the Ministry of Transport.
Mr. Chairman,
The Mission of the Ministry is to provide leadership and guidance for the development of Ghana's transportation system through:
(i) Effective Policy formulation
(ii) Market regulation
(iii) Asset management and
(iv) Service provision.
In line with Government's Shared Growth and Development Agenda, the vision of the Ministry is to create an integrated, modally complementary, cost effective, safe, secure, sustainable and seamless transportation system responsive to the needs of society, supporting growth and
poverty reduction and capable of establishing Ghana as a transportation hub within the West African Sub-Region.
Sector Goals
The Ministry of Transport derives its Sector Goals from the Ghana shared Growth and Development Agenda through the Sector Medium term Development Plan which has inputs from the National Transport Policy document. The Goals of the Sector are as follows:
• Establish Ghana as a Transportation Hub within the West African Sub-Region;
• Create a sustainable, accessible, affordable, reliable, effective, efficient, safe and secure transport system that meets user needs;
• Integrate land use, transport planning, development planning and service provision;
• Create a vibrant investment and performance-based management environment that maximizes benefits for public and private sector investors;
• Develop and implement a comprehensive and integrated Policy, Governance and Institutional Framework;
• Ensure Sustainable Development in the Transport sector; and
• Develop adequate Human Resource and apply new Technology.
Mr. Chairman,
The Transport Sector infrastructure can be categorized as follows:
(i) Aviation Sub-Sector-
Ghana has one international airport in Accra with four (4) regional airports with paved runways in Kumasi, Takoradi, Sunyani and Tamale in addition to a number of airstrips located throughout the country for general aviation.
(ii) Maritime and Inland Water Transport
• Ghana has two seaports located in Tema and Takoradi. The Tema port has one container berth facility with a number of multipurpose berths.
• There are also two fishing harbours at Tema and Takoradi and a dry-dock at Tema with a capacity of 100,000 dead weight.
• There is also an inland port at Boankra under development.
• There is an inland water lake transport system that spans about 450 km from North-South with two inland ports at Akosombo and Buipe. This inland waterway provides north- south operations and cross ferry services for goods and passengers along the lake catchment area.
(iii) Railway Sub-Sector
Mr. Chairman,
The railway which is confined to the Southern half of the country has a total route length of 947 km comprising the western, central and Eastern lines. The total track length is about 1300 km. The rail network has five branch lines distributed on a single gauge of 1,067 mm except the 30 km Takoradi-Manso section which is double track.
(v) Road Transport Sub-Sector
Mr. Chairman,
There are two quasi Government transport operators, namely,
Metro Mass Transit (MMT) and Intercity STC Coaches (ISTC). Both companies have a fleet of over 800 buses and a number of terminals, depots and workshops throughout the country. However, most of the vehicles of the private sector are old and poorly maintained.
As part of its efforts to address road safety issues, the National road Safety Commission in partnership with Road safety Management Services Ltd have procured 38 towing trucks that have been deployed throughout the regions to clear our roads of obstacles that cause road crashes.
Performance of the Sector
Aviation Sub-Sector
Mr. Chairman;
The aviation sub-sector has undergone tremendous growth in recent times both at the international and at the domestic airports.
Three (3) additional Boarding Gates had been constructed at Kotoka International Airport (KIA) to bring the total to five (5). This has helped to reduce congestion at KIA with the increasing number of passengers, especially during the peak periods.
Work on the refurbishment, upgrading and expansion of the Domestic Terminal for international operations has started and is currently 80% complete. This will help in improving the efficiency of handling the increasing number of international flights/passengers.
In order to reduce passenger handling times and also be in tune with industry innovations and best practice, self-check-in equipment and software have been installed at KIA to facilitate passenger processing. The construction of new parking aprons and taxiway is underway. The new aprons will create eight (8) additional parking spaces to accommodate wide body aircraft to meet the increase in frequency of flights.
Mr. Chairman,
An ultra-modern Fire Station and the servicing and refurbishment of fire tenders had been completed. These projects are among the safety measures being adopted to forestall any unforeseen emergency and improve response time within and around the airport city.
To ensure improvement in the water supply system, a water development and storage systems project has been completed at KIA to provide continuous water supply to all parts of the airport at all times.
The construction of a perishable cargo centre under the Millennium Challenge Account to handle perishable cargo for export by our local farmers has been completed. This will ensure that agricultural products are fresh when exported and also enable farmers to be paid the right
value for their goods.
Mr. Chairman,
A new landing aid, Doppler VHF Omni-directional Radio Range, has been installed to help pilots to navigate safely and efficiently to or from KIA under all weather conditions without the need to depend on Air Traffic Controllers for information.
Another navigational equipment, an ADS-C/CPDLC Communication System has also been installed to improve communication between pilots and controllers, especially, in the oceanic/remote regions where there is no radar coverage for enhanced navigation services. These are all measures being taken to ensure aviation safety and security as prescribed by international standards.
An Automatic Weather Observation System and an Automatic Terminal Information equipment have been installed to enhance communication with aircraft. This provides weather information on continuous basis; i.e. every 30 minutes.
Maritime and Inland Waterway sub-sectors
Mr. Chairman;
The maritime industry like aviation is experiencing significant growth. Also in the wake of the oil find, there is pressure on the existing port facilities to accommodate the increase in traffic especially the supply vessels that ply between the Port and the oil field.
To respond to the growing needs of the maritime industry, the Ministry through the GPHA is on course to implement major expansion works at the seaports of Tema and Takoradi. Pending the expansion works, the GPHA has committed substantial investment to upgrade, rehabilitate or
replace existing facilities at the seaports to ensure safety of cargo and ships at the ports, improve the delivery of cargo and vessel services to shippers and ship-owners as well as provide better and hygienic conditions for our fishing community. To this end the following principal projects have been undertaken or are ongoing at the seaports:
1. Upgrading of the Closed-Circuit Television system [CCTV] to cover the entire main seaport of Tema including the Golden Jubilee Terminal.
2. Provision of Traffic Lights at the principal road intersections around the Tema Port to control and manage traffic into and out of the seaports.
3. Deployment of over 25 new operational plant consisting of reachstackers, tractors, and forklifts of various sizes costing well over US$3miliion.
4. Supply contracts for the supply of new marine craft to include a Tugboat, Security Patrol and Rescue boat as well as Pilot launch, all costing over US$10million.
5. Works contracts to dredge and reconstruct the canoe basin of the Tema Fishing Harbour has commenced. This will provide improved facility for the net mending, wharf, safe and hygienic environment for landed fish and will provide deeper draft for larger fishing
vessels which for now compete for berthing space at the main port.
6. Installation of Four new weigh bridges and upgrading of four old ones at the port to ensure that loaded trucks from our ports stay within the permissible axle load limits on our roads.
The proximity of Takoradi Port to the current oil fields makes her the priority of the Government in our ports expansion programme. Accordingly the GPHA has engaged engineering consultants, Messrs SeliHorn Ing. & Hamburg Port Consultants (HPC), to review the detailed design proposals for the proposed expansion of Takoradi Port under the China Development Bank (CDB) loan facility for the Phase 1 expansion works. The works under this first phase will include the following:
• An extension of the existing breakwater to create additional harbour basin for the berthing of ships.
• Dredging of the additional harbour basin to provide for the intake of bigger ships drawing 14m of water or more.
• Construction of dedicated bulk cargo jetty for the handling of manganese, bauxite, cement and oil.
• Construction of additional quay length for the berthing of more ships principally the several supply vessels calling at the port.
• Reclamation of the sea to create operational areas for the oil & gas activities to include fabrication and workshop yards.
Simultaneously engineering Consultants have been engaged with support from the Dutch government to prepare a Master Ports Development plan to guide the Ports in the utilization of our coastline for purposes of providing marine services to shippers.
The Ministry through the GPHA will also undertake the development of a number of fish landing sites from Axim to Keta under the CDB facility. The project will provide physical facilities for safe anchorage, berthing and sailing of artisanal fishing canoes. It will also provide safe and hygienic environment for the discharge, storage and handling of all types of fish landed.
Mr. Chairman;
In line with the increase in traffic growth as well as the oil & gas activities, the Ghana Maritime Authority has obtained Parliamentary approval for a loan facility of €16.63million to procure and operate a Vessel Traffic Management Information System (VTMIS) to ensure comprehensive
surveillance of Ghana Maritime domain. The VTMIS has been procured and necessary steps are being put in place for its installation.
Mr. Chairman;
In order to facilitate improved shipping services, the Ghana Shippers' Authority is undertaking the following projects:
• Takoradi Logistics Platform Project
The Takoradi Logistics Platform will provide warehousing facilities and facilitate the provision of ancillary services for the oil & gas industry and also create employment avenues for about 100 Ghanaians.
• Accra Shippers' Centre Project
The Ghana Shippers' Authority is constructing an eleven storey shippers' centre to house the Authority's headquarters as well as other corporate bodies. It will also serve as a one stop shop for commercial shipping activities including brokerage services.
• Boankra Inland Port Project:
This is a facility intended to help decongest the Ports and facilitate Transit trade. The GSA has intensified its search for a strategic partner to undertake the development of the entire Boankra Inland Port project on Build Operate and transfer (BOT) basis.
Mr. Chairman,
Under the Millennium Development Authority {MiDA} project, one (I) new Ferry has been constructed and commissioned whilst another ferry is almost ready to improve services at the Adawso - Ekye-Amanfro crossing. Government has also provided funding for a new ferry and
water buses for Kete-Krachie and Kpando Torkor crossings.
The Ministry of Transport, on behalf of VLTC, has procured eight (8) Main Engines and eight (8) Auxiliary Engines to refurbish the old ferries which will improve ferry services at the following crossing points: Yeji, Dambai and other crossing points.
Mr. Chairman,
In response to the needs of the oil & gas find, the Regional Maritime University undertook the provision of training facilities for the training of students to meet the essential capacity required for the industry.
Railway sub-sector
Mr. Chairman,
As you are aware, the railway system in the country has completely broken down except some minimal operations for the haulage of manganese on the Western Railway Line and sub-urban passenger services on the Accra-Nsawam and the Accra-Tema Railway Lines.
Due to the high patronage on the Accra-Tema Railway Line, Government is currently extending the line from Tema Port to Community 1 in Tema to increase benefits to commuters between Accra and Tema. The track works for the line has been completed and the rail station to serve this line at Tema Community One (1) is almost completed and will be commissioned soon.
Mr. Chairman;
The Ghana Railway Development Authority has engaged a Consultant to develop a Railway Master Plan for the development of railway networks in the country. The rail network will also benefit from the CDB facility for the rehabilitation of the Western Railway Line.
Mr. Chairman;
Govenment has released funds to undertake a feasibility study to introduce an urban tram system in the city of Accra to address the congestion problem.
Under an Indian credit facility, Letters of Credit (LCs) have been established for the Ghana Railway Company Ltd. to take delivery of wagons, spare parts and track materials to address problems of old rolling stock and track infrastructure to improve their services.
Mr. Chairman;
The DVLA has procured vehicle testing equipment to assist in the examination of vehicles on our roads. Four (4) private vehicle test stations have been constructed and licensed to conduct equipment-based testing for vehicles. This is to complement DVLA's role in offering services to the public leading to efficiency in the inspection and testing of vehicles.
As part of the Authority's effort to decentralize its activities, it opened a District office at Goaso in the Brong Ahafo region, upgraded the Techiman office to register vehicles in addition to other services, and new offices constructed in Mampong in the Ashanti Region for efficient service delivery. The Authority has also moved into a new headquarters building in Accra to decongest and separate its operations from the Accra Regional Office.
Mr. Chairman,
Government continues to complement the efforts of the Private Transport operators in the area of public transport.
In this regard, through the support of Government, MMT has taken delivery of 150 new VDL Jonckheere buses.
In addition to this, the MMT has procured 150 new Tata and Ashok leyland buses from its own resources.
As a result of these additional buses, new routes have been added to the existing network giving access to new communities. Among these are: Samreboi, Kete-Krachi, Mehame, Nsawra, Akotombra, Sankore and Dambai.
Mr. Chairman;
The ailing ISTC is now showing signs of recovery. As a short-term measure, the company has entered into a business arrangement with J. A. Plant Pool Ltd. to provide buses under a hire purchase arrangement. The company is currently running about 30 of these new buses. In the long run, Government will take a decision as to the involvement of the private sector in the management and operations of the company.
Key Challenges of The Sector
Mr. Chairman
Despite interventions by Government and its Agencies, the Transport Sector faces many challenges. The key among these challenges is financing for infrastructure development.
The consistent growth in the economy has put a lot of pressure on the infrastructure which needs expansion. The oil find has created an urgent demand for new port facilities and services. For example, draft limitations at Tema and Takoradi Ports, space, as well as handling equipment to
meet the internal demand as well as effectively compete with other Ports in the sub-region.
Similarly, facilities at the airports and the railway networks require modernization and expansion but the lack of funding has impeded the development of the infrastructure.
To meet these challenges, Government has taken initiatives in seeking funding from the World Bank and other donor partners for the development of the infrastructure. As indication earlier, the Transport Sector will benefit from over $1 billion from the recently approved COB credit facility to undertake projects in the Ports, Railways and the Volta Lake.
Other challenges faced by the sector include lack of titles to lands and the associated encroachments. The worst affected sub-sectors are the railways and aviation. The lack of land title becomes a major constraint for development for two (2) main reasons:
I. It hinders investments by the private sector since such legal titles are required by the investors before they commit their funds. Furthermore, Investors and financiers are less likely to invest in projects for which there are doubts over land ownership therefore
reducing the attractiveness and bankability of development opportunities in these sectors.
II. It also becomes difficult for the agencies to legally challenge encroachments on their lands.
The Ministry is currently engaging the Ministry of Lands and Forestry to address these land issues and to subsequently seek the necessary Cabinet approval to perfect these titles.
The Way Forward
Mr. Chairman,
As a way forward Government will continue with the implementation of the sector medium term Plan to develop the needed transport infrastructure. Among these are:
(i) The completion of the phase III rehabilitation works of the KIA, rehabilitation of the regional airports and the upgrading of Tamale into an international airport alternate to KIA. Currently works have been awarded for the extension of the Tamale,
Kumasi and Sunyani runways.
The Tamale Airport project will serve as a stimulus to the Sahara Accelerated Development Authority project and will enhance efficiency in the handling of future Hajj operations. The future development of other regional airports will be based on the
airport Master Plan which is currently on-going.
(ii) Government will rehabilitate the existing railway network to support the haulage of bauxite, manganese, cocoa, timber and other freights in addition to provision of passenger services.
In the medium to long term, the existing network will be modernized and expanded to the north to link the landlocked countries.
(iii) Government will assist the private sector to acquire new buses to replace their existing fleet of vehicles.
(iv) Government will pursue expansion of facilities at the two ports of Tema and Takoradi and also dredging of the to receive larger vessels.
(v) Government will pursue the Eastern Corridor multi-modal project under the CDB facility with the expansion of Akosombo and Buipe Ports and the provision of landing sites along the Volta Lake as well as the procurement of ferries and pontoons to be deployed to Dzremin and Tepa Abotoase.
(vi) The project will also rehabilitate access roads to link the landing sites. The project is to improve the marketing of Agricultural products particularly from Afram Plains to trading centres.
(vii) Government views the development of the Boankra inland port as a very strategic project which needs to be pursued,
Mr. Chairman,
In conclusion, may I state that the real challenge facing the Sector is the financing gap for transport infrastructure development. Government in addition to the support from our development partners has developed a ppp framework to create the enabling environment to attract private investors to assist in the development of the transport infrastructure.
I thank you for your attention.
|
