Ghana: African Development Bank Approves $23.04 Million for Modern Floating Dock Facility | African Development Bank

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank has approved a $23.04 million loan to Prime Meridian Docks AssetCo Ltd (PMD), a dedicated entity to co-finance the construction of a modern floating ship repair facility at the western port of Takoradi in Ghana.

The loan will support the company to design, build, operate and maintain a world-class ship repair and maintenance facility in the Gulf of Guinea under a 25-year concession granted to the company by the Ghana Ports and Harbors Authority.

The project, estimated to cost $137 million, will include building a 200-meter jetty, dredging 300,000 cubic meters of rock in the harbor basin, and purchasing and installing a floating dock with a lifting capacity of 13,500 tons. The facility will also have offices, a warehouse, mechanical workshops for steel and pipe fabrication, electrical work, blasting and painting, and equipment maintenance.

The board of directors also approved the syndication, on a best effort basis, of additional funding of up to $11 million.

Commenting on the approval, Mike Salawou, director of infrastructure, cities and urban development at the African Development Bank, said: “Ship repair and maintenance is an underserved market on the continent. Investing in this will create a more holistic approach to supporting maritime transport and its sustainability, which will accelerate regional integration and attract international trade and economic activity.”

PMD is a Ghanaian company founded under the leadership of Mr. Stanley Raja Korshie Ahorlu, sponsor of the project. The African Development Bank’s approval and facility is a “culmination of many years of dedication and commitment and an affirmation of PMD’s commitment to transform Africa’s maritime sector,” said Ahorlu.

The long-term hard currency funding from the African Development Bank for the project will enable it to create more than 400 permanent jobs, 15% of which are expected to go to women. This is significantly higher than the global average of 2% in the maritime sector.

The construction of the floating dock will increase the resilience of Ghana’s ocean economy and reduce the environmental footprint of an expected increase in ship flow, by promoting the use of renewable energy, energy efficiency and slow sailing of ships. This aligns with International Maritime Organization best practices and Ghana’s Nationally Determined Contributions, making the project Paris Aligned.

The project aligns with the African Development Bank’s Country Strategy Paper for Ghana (2019-2023) to increase private sector investment in the real sector. It contributes to job creation, bridges disparities in inequality and supports overall macroeconomic stability in Ghana, while integrating several cross-cutting issues into the bank’s interventions.

The project further ties into Ghana’s national ambition to become a hub for shipping and petroleum activities in West Africa. By improving the range of marine maintenance and repair services, the project will help minimize transport and logistics costs and time, resulting in increased mobility and connectivity and strengthening Ghana’s competitiveness.

The transfer of skills is an important developmental outcome of the project. The operational/technical and commercial management project operator will train staff at its training facility in Aberdeen and a partnership will be developed with the Regional Maritime University in Tema, Ghana over the life of the project.