President Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo commissioned the €85-million Elmina Fishing Port rehabilitation and extension project on Friday in the ancient city of Elmina, Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem (KEEA) Municipality of the Central Region. The 30-month development of the region's largest fishing harbour includes docking space and deep sea access to assure the harbour's longevity and sustainability. Work on the project began in August 2020, with the goal of boosting tourism and the salt business, increasing port accessibility, and expanding its capacity to improve the fishing industry in Elmina and the Central Region. The facility includes marine and civil infrastructure, including a south breakwater with a cubipod-shaped head that is 450 meters long and a north breakwater with a 160-meter length that is connected to the existing sea defense. It includes a vast basin measuring 65,000 square meters, dredged depths ranging from three to five meters, and 400 meters of quay walls, including an 80-meter tourist quay at the Elmina Castle. The gorgeous edifice features a new fish market, a net-mending space, an auction hall, an ablution facility, bathrooms, and a Day Care structure for young children. It also has an administration block with offices and a viewing deck.
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Bellsea Limited completed significant maritime and civil activities on the project, with the International maritime and Dredging Consultants (IMDC) serving as consultant engineers. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo commissioned the facility in a colorful ceremony, thanking the Chiefs and people of Elmina, as well as numerous contractors, for working tirelessly to meet various operational needs. He described the facility as a big step forward in empowering the people through employment development, complementing the operations of the Takoradi and Tema harbors. Nonetheless, President Akufo-Addo criticised former President John Dramani Mahama for labeling the initiative as a political ploy to divert attention away from the people of Elmina and the Central Region as a whole. Instead, he said that the facility's record completion was evidence of the government's commitment to investing in the fishing industry in order to raise the standard of living for all participants.
The President expressed optimism about the medium- to long-term reduction of fish imports by raising the income of fishers and reducing post-harvest losses through the sector's multidimensional investment Akufo-Addo assured that other landing beaches strategically positioned along Ghana's coastal stretch were at various stages of completion and stated that the fishing industry contributed about 11% of the country's GDP and 30% of the workforce directly and indirectly.
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