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 constructing a 200-meter jetty, dredging 300,000 cubic meters of rock in the port basin, and procuring and installing 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.
The Board also authorized the syndication, on a “best efforts basis”, of additional financing of up to $11 million.
Commenting on the approval, Mike Salawou, Director for Infrastructure, Cities and Urban Development of the African Development Bank, said: “Vessel repair and maintenance is an underserved market on the continent. Investing in it will provide a more holistic approach to supporting maritime transport and its sustainability, which will accelerate regional integration and attract international trade and economic activity.”
PMD is a Ghanaian company founded and headed by Mr. Stanley Raja Korshie Ahorlu, sponsor of the project. The African Development Bank’s approval and facility is a “culmination of many years of dedication and commitment and an endorsement of PMD’s drive to transform Africa’s maritime sector,” stated Ahorlu.
The African Development Bank’s hard currency long-term financing for the project will enable it to create over 400 permanent jobs – 15% of which are expected to go to women. This is significantly above the global average of 2% in the maritime sector.
