A boost for West African ship repair

Financing ship repair facilities

GHANA: A $137 million project to build a world-class ship repair facility in Ghana’s Takoradi port has been given a boost with the confirmation of a $23.04 million loan from the African Development Bank.

The loan will support Prime Meridian Docks Asset Co Ltd (PMD), a special purpose entity 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 Harbours Authority.

The project will involve constructing a 200-metre jetty, dredging 300,000 cubic metres of rock in the port basin, and procuring and installing a 13,500-tonne lift capacity floating dock. The facility will also have offices, a warehouse, mechanical workshops for steel and pipe fabrication, electrical works, blasting and painting, and equipment maintenance.

In addition, the project will see the creation of over 400 permanent jobs – 15 percent of which are expected to be geared towards women.

The project further aligns with the national ambition of Ghana to become a hub for shipping and petroleum operations in West Africa. By enhancing the supply of maritime maintenance and repair services, the project will help minimise transport and logistic costs and time, resulting in increased mobility and connectivity and boosting Ghana's competitiveness.

Skills transfer is a significant development outcome of the project. The project’s operations/technical and commercial management operator will train staff in its Aberdeen training institute, and a partnership will be developed with the Regional Maritime University in Tema, Ghana, throughout the project's life.

The Bank’s Board also authorised the syndication, on a “best efforts basis”, of additional financing of up to $11 million.

Commenting on the approval, Mike Salawou, Director for Infrastructure, Cities and Urban Development of the African Development Bank, said: “Vessel repair and maintenance is an underserved market on the continent. Investing in it will provide a more holistic approach to supporting maritime transport and its sustainability, which will accelerate regional integration and attract international trade and economic activity.”

Prime Meridian Docks Ghana Limited is the realisation of the vision and ambition of Mr Stanley Raja Ahorlu, a successful Ghanaian lawyer and owner of the shipping company African Independent Feeder, to become the first-choice ship and rig maintenance and repair facility in the region.

The African Development Bank’s approval and facility is a “culmination of many years of dedication and commitment and an endorsement of PMD’s drive to transform Africa’s maritime sector,” stated Ahorlu.

The company was awarded a 25-year concession in 2015 to operate a repair and maintenance facility in Takoradi Port by the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority and operates within the port and at offshore locations. Prime Meridian Docks is managed and operated by Rigmar Services, an international repair and maintenance specialist.