TEMA Port in Ghana has opened a new US$15.5 million container terminal that aims to significantly reduce congestion at the port, improve vessel turnaround times, and eventually lead to lower charges for port users.

The new facility has been dubbed the "Golden Jubilee Terminal" as it was inaugurated during the country's 50th anniversary year of independence and is said to be the best of its kind in the West African sub-region, reports the Ghana Daily Graphic.

The new terminal, equipped with modern container handling equipment and cargo tracking systems, is intended to turn the port into a maritime hub and shipping gateway to the ECOWAS sub-region, as well as boost the nation's economic growth.

Ghana's president, JA Kufuor, said at the inauguration ceremony that a feasibility study would be undertaken to assess whether one more terminal could be constructed at Tema Port, in a bid to meet the anticipated growth in trade volumes.

According to the nation's Minister of Harbours and Railways, Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, port authorities have been working actively to improve security within the port area and institutional reforms have been introduced to minimise bureaucratic bottlenecks in the maritime industry, the report adds.