Enyonam Apetorgbor, the Chief Executive Officer of Keta Investment Promotion Centre (KIPC), has called upon the government to allocate funds for the proposed Keta port in the upcoming mid-year budget review.
The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, is scheduled to present the government’s 2023 mid-year Economic Policy and Budget Statement Review to parliament on July 25.
Mrs. Apetorgbor emphasized the importance of mentioning the project’s current status and allocating resources for its development in the budget review next week.
In a press release issued on July 17, the KIPC CEO urged both the Minister of Transport and the Minister of Finance to ensure that the project is included in the budget review.
The press release referred to the 2023 Budget Statement and Economic Policy presented to Parliament on November 24, 2022, which stated that the Keta Port had reached a significant completion stage.
It requested the Minister to take note of this and take necessary action in the upcoming budget review.
“Repairs because the metals used in the construction of the main port, fishing harbour and the container offices did not pass passivation test to withstand the corrosive weather at the Port. This situation has endangered the durability of the Port infrastructure and the workers at the Keta Port; Maintenance because, the roads connecting and leading to the Keta Port have gone bad with big potholes and manholes just few years after the construction,” it stated.
“The heavy vehicular traffic to and from the Port has put the road infrastructure in jeopardy hence the need for an immediate maintenance or reconstruction to forestall further decadence.”
“Expansion because the Keta Port since its 90 percent stage of completion reported last year by the Minister for Finance, has since experienced a massive rise in vessel traffic, to the extent that vessels do not have places to berth. A good number of them are on anchorage, seven nautical miles calling to berth. This confirms the quantum of revenue being generated,” it added.
