Tema, March 29, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor on Thursday inaugurated a new 15.5 million dollar container terminal built to help significantly reduce congestion at the Tema Port.

It has facilities for a Container Freight Station (CFS) covering a total space of 7,200 square meters, a state warehouse of 2,100 square meters for storage of uncleared cargo and a paved area of 93,000 square meters.

Started in 2004 and christened; "Golden Jubilee Terminal," it has been designed to help improve the turn-around time of container vessels and free more space for the handling of general cargo.

The new facility adds to the number of capacity improvement projects undertaken within the last six years to develop the nation's maritime industry to become the maritime fulcrum and the shipping gateway to the ECOWAS sub-region.

President Kufuor announced that a feasibility study for construction of yet another new terminal would soon commence in anticipation of the continued growth in the volume of trade. "For now, a number of state-of-the-art equipment has been acquired and institutional reforms on-going to enhance the quality of service delivery within the port and the maritime industry in general." President Kufuor expressed the Government's determination to push ahead with the implementation of policies that would increase private sector participation in port operations.

The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority has already begun a gradual ceding of more port operations to private companies, something, he noted, would create space for competition, efficiency and innovation. President Kufuor said the name given to the new terminal should be an all time reminder of the increasing role that the nation's ports in particular and the maritime industry in general were expected to play in promoting economic and national development during the next 50 years. Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, Minister of Harbours and Railways, said the new facilities at the port were meant to turn it into a maritime hub to contribute to the nation's progress.

He said already measures had been put in place to improve security and safety within the port area as well as institutional reforms to minimize bureaucratic bottlenecks.

Mr. Ben Owusu-Mensah, Director-General of GPHA, said apart from the Landlord Port Bill, which was still under consideration by the appropriate authorities, the GHPA has now completed all the Strategic Action Plans it was required to undertake under the Gateway Programme. Under the programme, the Authority was required to transform into a Landlord Port Authority, re-organize itself into a downsized Headquarters with greater authority to the ports, to develop de-vanning area outside Tema Port and to increase private sector participation in port operations.

Additionally it was to establish electronic data interchange for the maritime community and to improve container handling productivity in the ports.