The Minister of Transport, Mr Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, who made this known, said the discovery of oil in the country and the quest to ensure local content and participation in the industry required the revamping of the Tema Shipyard to support the maritime industry, job creation and the oil and gas industry.

He was addressing the Ministry of Transport Sector Review Conference at Elmina in the Central Region yesterday.

The three-day conference, which is on the theme: “Transport as a tool for job creation”, will provide transport industry practitioners the opportunity to assess their performance.

Expansion of ports

Additionally, the minister said, the government would continue the expansion of the ports and fully automate the process of clearing goods and vehicles, which would, invariably, lead to reduction in port charges and fees.

The expansion of the Tema and Takoradi ports will give Ghana the edge to play a major role in the offshore upstream operations, Mr Asiamah said.

Mr Asiamah added that the government would develop a logistics platform in Sekondi as part of the port expansion in order to boost economic activities in the locality and its environs.

He said the Volta River would also be developed into a major transportation artery by building modern ports at Akosombo and Buipe, as well as landing sites along the banks of the lake in collaboration with the private sector.

Road transport

Touching on road transport, Mr Asiamah said stringent efforts would be made to reduce fatalities and injuries on the roads by scaling up efforts in road safety.

That, he stated, would include amending the law to empower the National Road Safety Commission to enforce and sanction road operators who did not comply with the road safety laws.

He said six persons were killed on the country’s roads while 38 others sustained varying degrees of injury on a daily basis.

Statistics from the National Road Safety Commission, Mr Asiamah said, showed that from January to June this year, a total of 5,997 people had been injured as against 5,302 for the same period last year, representing an increase of 13 per cent.

Traffic fatalities also increased marginally from 1,034 to 1,059 for the same period.

That, the minister attributed to non-compliance with road safety standards and regulations by motorists, road sector stakeholders and other road users.

In a welcome address, the Central Regional Minister, Mr Kwamena Duncan, reiterated the significant role of the transport sector in the nation’s socio-economic development and bemoaned the deplorable nature of the country’s roads.