GPHA to host 39th annual council meeting of PMAWCA

The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority will be hosting the 39th Annual council meeting of the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA), at the Ghana Shippers House from Monday 30th July to Thursday 2nd August, 2018.

PMAWCA is a sub-regional intergovernmental economic organisation, made up of twenty two regular member Ports and Nine Associate members including landlocked Countries and Maritime Organisations, all located along the West Coast of the Africa Continent Stretching from Mauritania to Angola.

Ahead of the 39th Annual Council Meeting, the Ag. Director-General of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, Michael Luguje says the event will bring together international maritime port community.

“So far, we have about 15 Director-Generals of member Ports of West and Central Africa that have confirmed that they are going to participate. And then we have the Ports of Tange in Morocco coming, we have Rotterdam coming, we have Antwerp coming, we have Express coming from France. The council meeting is the biggest event of Association every year, ’’he said.

He said issues of management of port lands vis-a-vis best practices would be discussed to see how best Port Authorities can optimise land use in their various port environment.

“Land is the most important asset of any port community and managing Port lands is under different experiences that different Ports have to share and that is why this theme was chosen carefully in the light of growing needs for land where there is serious competition between Municipality and Urban needs of land and the Port that needs land for trade and Port business development,” he said.

Michael Luguje continued that “In some countries, there is conflict between Municipality and Port Authority. In other places, the Port Authority finds itself leasing out land to private operators to the point where the Port itself now lacks the resource to be able to develop into much more Port business.”

Michael Luguje said the Vice President His Excellency Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia will be opening the conference.

Exhibitors from across the world that provide services for Ports would be exhibiting their various services.