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The €85 million Elmina Fishing Port renovation and expansion project in the ancient city of Elmina in the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem (KEEA) Municipality of the Central Region was officially launched by President Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Friday. A docking area and deep marine access were built into the largest fishing harbor in the area during its 30-month development, ensuring its long-term viability. The project's goal is to strengthen the fishing business, increase accessibility to the port, and boost tourism and the salt industry in Elmina and the Central Region. Work on the project started in August 2020. The facility includes marine and civil infrastructure, such as a 450-metre-long south breakwater with a cubipod round head and a 160-metre-long north breakwater linked to the existing sea defense. It has a 65,000-m2 basin with excavated depths ranging from three to five meters and 400-metre-long quay walls, including an 80-meter tourist quay at the Elmina Castle. The spectacular edifice includes an administration building with offices and a viewing deck, a new fish market, a net mending space, an auction hall, an ablution facility, restrooms, and a toddler Day Care structure.
The Bellsea Limited project required substantial maritime and civil construction, with the International maritime and Dredging Consultants (IMDC) serving as the consulting engineers. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo formally opened the facility and thanked the Chiefs, the residents of Elmina, the many contractors, and everyone involved for their cooperation in meeting the facility's numerous operational needs. According to him, the facility marked an important turning point in the empowerment of the populace through employment creation, complementing the efforts of the Takoradi and Tema harbors. But President Akufo-Addo criticized former President John Dramani Mahama for branding the project a political ploy to divide Elmina's residents and the Central Region as a whole. Rather, he stated that the facility's record completion was a representation of the government's resolve to invest in the fisheries sector in order to better the livelihoods of all stakeholders in the field. The President was confident about raising fisherman income and reducing post-harvest losses in order to minimize fish imports in the medium to long term through comprehensive investment in the sector.
President Akufo-Addo stated that the fisheries sector directly and indirectly contributed about 11% of Ghana's GDP and 30% of the country's workforce, and he assured that other landing beaches strategically located along Ghana's coastal stretch were in various stages of completion. In the Central region, they included the landing beaches at Mamford, Winneba, Senya Bereku, and Gomoa Feteh. In the Greater Accra Region, they included Teshie and James Town, and in the Volta Region, Keta.
The President lamented the detrimental effects of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing operations that were causing fish stocks to fall and pleaded with them to stop in order to protect marine resources. Mr. Joachim Lebbe, the Project Manager for BellSea Limited, one of the contractors, spoke on behalf of the diverse group of contractors who carried out the projects. He claimed that the structures had been specially created and built with the residents of Elmina as one of the key stakeholders; as a result, their input had been appropriately incorporated.
