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On 30th April 2020, Meridian Port Services Limited successfully completed the entire Phase 1 works of the Tema Port Expansion Project (also known as Terminal 3 of Tema Port).
As per the terms of the Concession, MPS Terminal 3 was expected to Go-Live on 28th June 2019 on 2 berths and the entire Phase 1 works were due to be completed on 28th June 2020. Both due dates were successfully achieved and works were completed ahead of schedule. The combination of a great team work, solid project finance and determined shareholders were among the main contributors to the success in delivering this mega infrastructure ahead of the contractual date in 3.5 years (41 months).
The new harbour basin was created on a 3 Km long beach directly on the Atlantic Ocean and right on the Meridian Timeline. Building into the sea, from the beach, the breakwater root goes 1,550m into the ocean with a 2 Km long arm extending eastwards from the root of the breakwater parallel to the quay wall. The 3,558 m long breakwater is harbouring a vast 450 Hectares (1,110 Acres) of maritime waterfront.
The new harbour basin is accessible through a 3,500 m long by 225 m wide Entrance Channel into a turning basin/circle of 500m diameter. The Access Channel has been dredged to -18.7m, Turning Basin to -17.4m and -16.9m by the quay wall to accommodate 16m draft vessels to dock alongside all berths.
Construction Manager, Mr. Matthieu Ferraro, recapped the composition of the work done by the collaboration of all contractors and their associates which has resulted in a fully functional terminal.
The Phase 1 scope of works included building a 1,000 m long wharf which consists of 3 berths and 98 Hectares (242 Acres) terminal facility on land reclaimed from the sea with all drainage, sewage, water, fire, electrical and IT services, 45 million paving blocks laid down, a 12 MW back-up power station, major facilities including administration buildings for MPS and the Authorities, a maintenance workshop, a 60 bay unstuffing shed for Customs, 6 scanners, several gate facilities, a fire plant, sewage treatment facilities and 1400 reefer container plugs.
Board Chairman of MPS, Dr. Edmund Osei Tutu Prempeh, remarked “Today is truly a celebration of success, this edifice is evidence that when we put our minds to great things as a country we can achieve because we have a dynamic human resource base as a nation. Each member of the team from the Management, Contractors to the Operations team have contributed massively to the completion of this edifice which is now being fully manned by local workforce. The responsibility of it living up to its expectation depends on the Operations Team, I have no doubt that they are squarely up to the task to complete our economic transformation to become a hub.”
DIVERSE WORKFORCE DEPLOYED
All contractors expressed gratitude to have taken part in building this marvellous facility and were delighted to receive the recognition for the quality that they had delivered. A work force of 4,000 (average) were engaged to construct this mega structure (personnel from MPS, CHEC, EIFFAGE, CONSAR, AECOM) and they collectively spent over 16 million man-hours to deliver this magnificent edifice ahead of schedule, within budget and most importantly with a fantastic safety record.
Highlighted by the CEO of MPS, this has been a great experience for most of the work force who were Ghanaians touching on all aspects of engineering (civil, geotechnical, marine, hydro, mechanical, electrical, electronic etc.) and gaining in-depth knowledge with the integrated safety and quality controls.
While expressing immense optimism that more gains could be made from all stakeholders working together, The CEO of MPS, Mr. Mohamed Samara said, “This major development requires that each member of the port community work towards the common goal of reaching global standards through consistent long and short term efforts.”
And further stated that Since the Go-Live of Terminal 3 in July 2019, we have witnessed a steady increase in productivity and flow of container traffic with the implementation of the highly efficient integrated systems and operational processes which has created huge benefits for freight forwarders, shipping lines, importers, exporters and most importantly creating the safe environment and providing sophisticated tools and technology in the hands of respective authorities to enable them to effectively safe guard the state revenue and ensure border security.
