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Meridian Port Services (MPS) expects to take delivery of 15 gantry cranes at the end of August that form the centrepiece of phase two of its US$1.5 billion Tema Port expansion project in Ghana.

Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industry was awarded a US$53.3 million contact for the construction, delivery and commissioning of three ship-to-shore cranes and 12 electric rubber-tyred gantry cranes in January 2022.

Construction of the second phase of the Tema Port expansion got underway in mid-June. The civil works are being executed by France's Eiffage Génie Civil Marine and the local De Simone, which also carried out the first phase.

Phase two entails paving an area of 270,000 square metres with 14 million pavement blocks to provide the stability required to accommodate heavy cranes. It also includes the installation of 16km of cable conduits and 5.5km of drainage pipes, supporting the operational yard and expanding the terminal’s holding capacity from 80 hectares to 120 hectares.

The work is expected to be completed by September 2025. The port’s container handling capacity will increase from 2.5 million TEUs to 3.7 million TEUS as a result.

The first phase of the expansion project was completed in August 2021. This phase included the construction of a dedicated container terminal, with a breakwater, harbour basin, deep port access channel, a 1.4km wharf with four berths, administrative buildings, workshops and utilities. The US' AECOM acted as the project management consultant. Construction began in 2016. The contract for the marine works was awarded to China Harbor Engineering Company.

MPS is a joint venture between Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority and Meridian Port Holdings Limited. 

Meridian Port Holdings Limited is a joint venture of Africa Global Logistics and APM Terminals.

Top photo: The new gantry cranes en route from Shanghai (Source: MPS)