The African Development Bank has approved a $23.04m loan to Prime Meridian Docks (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 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 $137m, will involve constructing a 200 m jetty, dredging 300,000 cu m 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 bank also authorised the syndication, on a best-efforts basis, of additional financing of up to $11m.
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.”
