Ghana awards $200m fishing ports contract to Dutch firm DHV from $3b China loan
Dutch engineering and consultancy firm DHV says it has been awarded a contract by the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) to build 11 fishing ports in the country.
The cost of construction is $200 million and it would be financed by the Ghana government through the $3 billion Chinese loan, the DHV said in a statement May 30, 2012.
Construction will start in summer 2012 and be completed in 2017, the company said.
The company was earlier contracted by the GPHA to produce the master plans and designs for the ports.
The eleven new ports will be located along the coast – in Axim, Dixcove, Winneba, Senya Beraku, Elmina, James Town, Gomoa Fetteh, Moree, Mumford, Teshie and Keta.
Commenting, Ben Reeskamp, DHV’s Director of Ports and Waterways said “We know every detail of the designs of the ports and in addition to drawing up the contract documents we also prepared the environmental impact assessments.”
The ports will have cold store facilities and landing sites for boats.
Meanwhile officials at the GPHA declined to comment when contacted.
However, after we have published the story, an official of the GPHA Engineering Department, Mr. Komla Ofori sent an emailed response to our enquiries.
He wrote the following which we are publishing unedited:
DHV is the Consultant for the development of the small fishing ports/fish landing sites along the coast of Ghana, to be financed under the CDB
loan (or part of).
Indeed, the same DHV conducted the design studies and detail designs for the fish landing sites between 2007 and 2009.
Our contract with DHV is not to do the construction, but to supervise the construction. They are the engineers/supervisors, not the construction contractors, for the project. Construction contracts are not awarded yet, therefore the first cost of construction is not yet established.
The 200MUS$ is the CDB allocation for the project from the Government, which is yet to be effected for payments when the actual construction
contracts are awarded.
By Ekow Quandzie