AfDB OKs money for modern floating dock facility in Ghana

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank has approved a $23.04 million loan to Prime Meridian Docks AssetCo Ltd (PMD), a special purpose entity, to co-finance the construction of a modern floating dock ship repair facility in Ghana’s western Takoradi port.

The loan will support the company to design, build, operate and maintain a world-class ship repair and maintenance facility in the Gulf of Guinea under a 25-year concession granted to the company by the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority.

The project, estimated to cost $137 million, will involve:

• construction of a 200-meter jetty,

• dredging of 300,000 cubic meters of rock in the port basin,

• installation of a 13,500-tonne lift capacity floating dock.

The facility will also have offices, a warehouse, mechanical workshops for steel and pipe fabrication, electrical works, blasting and painting, and equipment maintenance.

According to AfDB, the construction of the floating dock will enhance the resilience of the ocean economy in Ghana and mitigate the carbon footprint from an expected increase in vessel flow, promoting the use of renewable energy, energy efficiency and slow vessel steaming.

Also, this aligns with the International Maritime Organization’s best practices and Ghana’s Nationally Determined Contributions, making the project Paris Aligned.