The island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe (São Tomé) is set to have a port of entry at one of Ghana's ports as part of efforts to strengthen bilateral trade ties between the two countries.
Expected to be situated at either Tema in the Greater Accra Region or Takoradi in Ghana’s Western Region, the entry point will receive goods from various parts of the world for onward shipping to São Tomé, located in the Gulf of Guinea off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa.
Ghana’s Minister of Transport, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, made the announcement recently when the Minister of Infrastructure, Natural Resources, and Environment of São Tomé, Adelino Cardoso, visited Accra, the capital of Ghana.
He said the Takoradi port was one of the most sophisticated in the world, thanks to its modern infrastructure.
The port, built in 1928 with drafts measuring 8.3 metres, could not attract significant investments, prompting the Ghanaian government to give it a major facelift.
This led to the establishment of a new container multipurpose terminal built with a draft of 15 metres, among other modern facilities and equipment to facilitate better operations at the port.
"Takoradi has been developed into a modern port with world-class equipment and infrastructure,” he added.
"We are happy about the discussions currently going on between us and São Tomé. Very soon, we will make the final decision as to which of the two ports São Tomé will use as their port of entry because Tema is also equally in good shape.”
Cardoso expressed hope that the two countries would agree to work together to further strengthen their bilateral relationship, even beyond the transport industry. He noted that Ghana already had a relationship with São Tomé regarding aviation and now wants to strengthen maritime links, such as the port plan.
