November 13th, 2020. You can watch the recording of this webinar here.

The aims of theis workshop were twofold:

To present and discuss the final outputs of the “Integrated and Sustainable Port Development in Ghana within an African Context” project and to canvas the opinions of participants on how they and others can use the developed framework for Sustainable Port Development.

Programme:

13:00 – 13:15     Opening and introduction

13:15 – 14:00     Sustainable Ports Development Framework – presentations and clarifying questions

14:00 – 14:15     Coffee/Tea/Leg-stretch break

14:15 – 15:00     Survey questions and discussion

15:00 – 15:15     Coffee/Tea/Leg-stretch break

15:15 – 15:45     Conclusion and closing

Speakers: 

Tiedo Vellinga (TU Delft) –  Project coordinator

Kwasi Appeaning Addo (U Ghana) –  Ghana research coordinator

Jill Slinger (TU Delft) – Research coordinator and stakeholder-inclusive design

Heleen Vreugdenhil (TU Delft and Deltares) – Governance

Wiebe de Boer (TU Delft and Deltares) –  Ecosystem-based port design

Liselotte Hagedoorn (VU Amsterdam) – Welfare effects of port designs

Edem Mahu (U Ghana) Ecological effects of port development

Daan Rijks (Boskalis) – Chairman of the Advisory Board for Sustainable Ports in Africa.

Expansion of Tema port expected to be finished in 2020 and RMU stimulates exchange of Ghanaian and Dutch students

This month, Portside got in contact with Professor Vellinga trough their common membership of advisory board of a Green Ports project. Vellinga is the driving force behind the research pilot that studies the expansion of the port of Tema. Therefore, Vellinga was invited to give a presentation at the conference in Accra about sustainable port development. Moreover, Portside introduced Vellinga, who is a professor at the Technical University in The Netherlands, to the Regional Maritime University (RMU) to join hands on stimulating the exchange of Ghanaian and Dutch university students.

Vellinga, Professor Ports & Waterways at Delft University of Technology, is familiar with large- scale port expansions since he works with Port of Rotterdam in The Netherlands to develop Maasvlakte 2. With Maasvlakte 2, the ambition of the Port of Rotterdam Authority was and still is to be a global leader in the field of sustainability. Maasvlakte 2 is a showcase which demonstrates that sustainability and economic growth are perfectly compatible.

Expansion pilot of Tema port

With the success of Maasvlakte 2, Vellinga is the driving force behind the pilot to study the opportunities to develop the Tema port the same way. The main reason for expanding Tema’s port is to accommodate larger and more ships. With the expansion, Tema wants to be the hub of Western Africa. Securing growth of Tema’s port ensures products produced in the Ghanaian region to get access to overseas shipping. The Tema port will be the point of departure and entry for products shipped around the world. By 2020, the Port of Tema will have new land for cargo handling and wider and deeper channels for bigger ships. 

The expansion of the port not only affects the port itself, but also has impact on the wider local environment; which creates challenges, and in the same time offers a range of new opportunities to enhance this environment for local citizens. The expansion puts for example pressure on the motorways around Tema. Therefore, the Tema Accra Motorway will be expanded to a five-lane motorway to improve the access route. Moreover, the expansion extends the port area up to the entrance of the Sakumono Lagoon. This offers opportunities to look into coastal technology for inflow of water that could upgrade the currently degrading ecology of the lagoon and create a more sustainable living environment for Tema citizens.

Student exchanges between Ghanaian and Dutch universities

Since Professor Vellinga was in town for his presentation at the conference in Accra about his Tema port pilot, Portside Group Director Bas de Vaal saw this as an opportunity to introduce Vellinga to the Regional Maritime University. The RMU is looking for more partnerships in order to fulfil its mandate of training highly qualified personnel for the maritime and allied industries. Since Vellinga is professor at the Technical University in The Netherlands, their encounter can create possibilities for more a frequent exchange of Ghanaian and Dutch university students.

The Regional Maritime University (RMU) is a Sub-regional University established in 2007 with its roots in the then Ghana Nautical College (founded in 1958) and the Regional Maritime Academy (1983). The institution has traditionally served to provide high quality education at competitive pricing for member states – in particular the host country, Ghana. It thus helps to provide skilled human resources for a very sensitive industry in the service of Ghana, i.e. the maritime industry.

De Vaal and Vellinga were given a tour around the Regional Maritime Industry and got to know its history and future plans do develop and maintain their high quality trainings, workshops and courses.

Past events: