Tema, March 04, GNA - Work on the 60-million-dollar expansion of Quay Two of the Tema Port is to be completed in August to ease congestion at the port, Mr Bismarck Okutu, General Manager, Engineering of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) said on Thursday at Tema.

When completed Quay Two, which can handle only one vessel now, can conveniently take additional two full size container vessels. He was conducting members of the Ghana Shippers' Council on a tour of the Tema Port to investigate complains by importers and exporters about congestion.

Mr Okutu said four sheds with a total capacity of 40,000 tonnes at the former cocoa sheds area have been demolished to serve as a container terminal and this is part of the Quay Two expansion project.

Work on the clearing area, which is also meant to handle containers, has come to a standstill following financial constraints but said efforts are underway to continue the project.

Mr Kofi Mbiah, Chief Executive of the Ghana Shipper's Council, praised the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) for doing a good job because "there is tremendous improvement" and expressed the hope that work is completed on schedule.

He said it was not appropriate that goods were still being physically examined inside the port and ''this defeats the essence of containerisation programme because the development process requires that goods be examined outside the port.''

Mr Mbiah however blamed the situation on the limited infrastructure outside the port to check goods and expressed the hope that the completion of the project would bring an end to the practice.