Accra, GHANA

Ghanaian owned infrastructure company Bluestone Infrastructure Company Limited is set to reconstruct and expand (10) coastal fishing ports throughout Ghana. The Coastal Fishing Ports & Fish Landing Sites is an overarching project that will develop fish landing sites along the coastal line from Keta to Axim. The newly constructed sites will provide facilities to empower sustainable trade amongst farmer and grant their families access education.

The Coastal Fishing Ports & Fish Landing Sites is a project to reconstruct and expand (10) coastal fishing ports as well as the construction of ancillary fishing facilities to support the fishing industry of Ghana. The project mainly funded by the China Development Bank (CBD) and supported by the Ghana’s Ministry of Food and Agriculture and Ghana’s Ports and Harbours Authority, will be constructed by the China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) and supported by the Bluestone Infrastructure Company Ltd (BIC) as the main contractor’s local partner and the facilitator of local content participation.

Ghana’s Fishing sector has major untapped potential. Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, the country produces only 40% of its fish needs and imports more 600,000 metric tonnes of fish to supplement local production. According to the Ghana Investment Promotion Council (GIPC) also estimates that the fishing industry contributes 3 percent to the country’s GDP and employs approximately 10 percent of the population. However, due to challenges such as lack of proper facilities and protection against illegal fishing, the sector has not contributed to the economy at its optimal potential.

Growth strategy
Further, local fishermen experience daily inefficiencies that directly affect their productivity and profits. After spending hours and days at sea, Ghanaian fishermen, beset with unsupported landing sites, often lose their catch as they are landing their boats. This is a common issue experienced despite location.

The Coastal Fishing Ports & Fish Landing Sites project will tackle this problem through developing infrastructure that will calm the waves and allow fishermen to bring their boats to shore and experience less turbulence. The newly constructed facilities will eliminate the issue of turbulent landing and provide a safe and calm birthing site for fishermen without losing their catch.

The Expansion
The expansion facilities will also include net mending facilities, where fishermen can go to repair damaged nets. Currently fishermen generally mend nets in their boats. The expanded sites will have cold store facilities for fishermen to store their catch and sell, enabling direct trade. Each site will be completed with a nursery for the children of the fishermen and fisherwomen to access education. To promote sanitation, there will be designated toilet facilities.

The 10 sites receiving reconstruction are located at Axim, Discove, Elmina, Mumford, Winneba, Senya Bereku, Gomoa Feteh, Teshie and Keta. The project’s first soil cutting occurred in July of this year in Elmina, commemorating the start of the project.

Bluestone Infrastructure Company Ltd’s presence holds significant value as they will work directly with the contractor to ensure the local economy is included throughout the process. The company’s responsibility involves procuring local content, which means Bluestone will hire Ghanaian labor and procure materials made in Ghana. These elements will be integrated into the execution and completion of the ten Fish Landing sights.

Bluestone Infrastructure Company Ltd is a 100 percent owned Ghana company focused on infrastructure development. As foreign direct investment increases in African countries, this ownership and representation is key in the infrastructure development economy.

“We want Ghanaians to be better placed. Our work is about growing national infrastructure in a way that actually impacts the lives of Ghanaian citizens. We intend to continue this work and support bigger projects to make strengthen economic growth throughout Africa,” said Ebenezer Quao COO of Bluestone Infrastructure Company LTD.

“We’ve got what it takes to develop and supervise infrastructure development in Africa,” said Ebenezer Quao COO of Bluestone Infrastructure Company LTD. Ghana.

“Our fishermen need to be equipped with facilities. The better the facilities, the better the yield, said Ebenezer Quao COO of Bluestone Infrastructure Company LTD.”