Ghana Supply Company Limited (GSCL), the centralised procurement agency for the government of Ghana, has partnered Tab-Forest Mines Limited to develop a state-of-the-art logistics centre at Kejabil, Takoradi, in the Western Region to cater for the emerging oil industry and mines in the region.
The project is to start with its first phase next month, estimated at US$150million, and will be developed on 67-acres of land owned and leased by GSCL; it includes a 5-star hotel, a clinic, airplane hangar space for corporate jets, and a shopping mall.
Also in the facility will be a warehouse, a recreational centre and other amenities.
At a press briefing to announce the agreement between the two parties, Dr. Joseph Manboah-Rockson, Acting Managing Director-GSCL, indicated that the move to partner Tab-Forest was in accordance with government’s call for more public-private partnerships (PPPs), and in fulfilment of GSCL’s appreciation of local content to boost the country’s economy.
He said that on a research conducted by the two parties, it emerged that Takoradi and its environs need such a facility to cater for the people working offshore and the mines, as well as other industries in that part of the country.
He said: “From the research we have done, we have realised that Western Region lacks certain amenities, and with an in-depth analysis of the area we have come together to make sure this project comes to fruition to deal with the issue”.
Addressing the media at the meeting, Albert Kwabena Tabiri-Chief Executive Officer of TAB-Forest Mines Limited, said Takoradi has become an investment hub and destination in West Africa — attracting millions from investors due to the oil find, and hence taking advantage of the enormous investment potentials to construct the all-purpose total logistic centre in the area is the right way to go.
Togbe Hotormaho Amedzake III, General Manager of the ‘All-purpose Total Logistics Centre’ project, mentioned that although the two parties have entered into such a partnership under a PPP arrangement they are yet to reach a consensus on whether the project should pass for a Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) or a Joint Venture.
Meanwhile, Dr. Manboah-Rockson hinted at GSCL’s position of considering a BOT arrangement where both parties are considering giving the project a 35-year operational period managed by Tab-Forest Mines — after which it will be handed over to Ghana Supply Company.
He added however that: “It will not be a straight BOT. Our deal with Tab-Forest is that we will reserve 20 percent of their profit after expenditure to GSCL each year for the entire period”.
Tab-Forest Limited is a Ghana-based gold exploration and mining company, established in 2010 with a lot of investment in mining concessions in the country, as well as a host of foreign investors in the construction industry around the globe including Tunisia, Dubai and America.
Source: B&FT Online