On Thursday, 20th August 2020, President, Nana AddoDankwa Akufo-Addo, cut the sod for the commencement of construction of the Elmina Fishing Port Project.
The project when completed will serve as a major boost for the fishing industry in Elmina, particularly since the fishing industry plays a significant role in growing the country’s economy.
Considering the fact that about 60% of the nation’s annual protein is derived from fish and about 20% of the nation’s work force constitute fishing, the President explained these as some of the reasons the government is interested in developing the fishing industry.
“This is one of the reasons why we made a decision to continually improve the infrastructure and conditions of the fishing industry to help improve our catch, cut down post-harvest losses and reduce fish imports in the medium to long term”.
During his tour of the Western Region last year, the President symbolically cut the sod for the construction of eleven modern landing sites along the coast at Axim and Moree. Other beneficiary towns of this initiative include Mumford, Winneba, Senya Beraku, Gomoa Fete and Elmina in the Central Region, Teshie and James Town in the Greater Accra Region, and Keta in the Volta Region.
Construction work is progressing steadily at all the locations, with the sites at Axim, Dixcove, Senya Beraku and GomoaFetteh scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.
The President further noted that the Elmina Fishing Port Rehabilitation Project was originally supposed to be financed by the CDB Loan from China, however, he stated that Government secured separate funding from Belgium for the construction of a new fishing Port.
“In all, the Project will, first, see to upgrading existing facilities such as the administration building, the slipways, workshop, and the maintenance dredging of the existing Port. Secondly, the Project will also include the construction of a new fishing harbour, with a main breakwater and a quay wall to enable larger fishing vessels to safely moor and offload, a dedicated access road to the Port, and a warehouse for storage,” he said.
“Other new works include the construction of an additional administrative building; a shed for the fish market; a shed for fishing net mending; two (2) Cold Stores/ Ice factories; a new slipway for bigger vessels with a boat refurbishment area; a toilet block; and a day care centre. The Project will also provide beach and coastal protection works, as well as restoration of the area in front of the Elmina Castle, to enhance tourism.”
The President assured the gathering that Government will continue to do more to rake extra revenue for the country in terms of exporting processed fish and fish-related items and will also make deliberate effort to make value-addition a priority through policy interventions for companies.
“I urge the Ministries of Transport, Fisheries and Works and Housing, the contractors and consultants to work closely together to execute this project diligently, and ensure it is completed on time and on budget,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo appealed to the traditional areas toadopt a prudent maintenance culture in the use and management of the fishing port.
“All of us must appreciate that the deterioration of infrastructure and other assets of State are an enormous drain on national resources, and this port should not suffer the fates of other facilities with a poor maintenance culture,” the President added.
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I’m Deborah Aba Narkoah. I’m an avid reader, writer and public speaker.
