Boankra Inland Port project halted due to allegation of inflated cost of the project - Report

Documents available to the OTEC News desk indicate that the Boankra Integrated Logistics Terminal (BILT), popularly known as the Boankra Inland Port Project, has been halted due to an allegation of inflated costs for the project allotted for the first phase.

According to the document sent to parliament by the concessionaire, Ashanti Ports Limited, the agreed amount of 4 million dollars earmarked for the earthworks ballooned to about 30 million dollars, which reportedly caused some misunderstanding between the concessionaire and the Ministry of Transport.

The amount, according to Ashanti Ports Services Limited, covers 27 percent of the entire funds allocated for the first phase of the project, which, when approved, will affect the project's financial projections.

Introduction of a new consultant:

The document, dated March 25, 2024, and addressed to the Speaker of Parliament, revealed that the Transport Ministry, through the Ghana Shippers Authority, after acquiring 39 percent shares of the project, brought in a consultancy company, Vision Consult.

Vision Consult was tasked with designing the project, and after submitting their designs, Ashanti Port Services Limited, however, discovered that the consultant failed to add the cost of earthworks to the first phase of the project.

According to APSL, all parties involved in the project estimated the use of 4 million dollars for the earthworks, adding that they tasked Vision Consult to submit the final design and cost for the first phase.

The document further disclosed that the Transport Ministry, after assigning Justmo Constructions to work at the site, later submitted close to 30 million dollars for the earthworks alone, something they opposed.

Following the opposition by APSL, the contract between the government of Ghana and the concessionaire, APSL, was abrogated by the Transport Ministry.

Court injunction:

Following the cancellation of the contract, Ashanti Port Services Limited (APSL) filed a writ at the Ghana Arbitration Center against the Ghana Shippers Authority (GSA) over the termination of the contract.

APSL, in the writ, invoked the powers of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law Arbitration, seeking damages amounting to over 3 billion US dollars, through the Ministry of Transport.

APSL, in its statement of claim, said its member of the consortium, Afum Quality Limited (AQL), entered into an agreement with the Ghana Shippers Authority on September 25, 2020, to construct and develop the Boankra Integrated Logistics Terminal (BILT) on a Build, Operate, and Transfer basis (BOT), but the deal was unilaterally terminated by the GSA on July 5, 2023.