The government has told shipping companies and their agents to begin collecting the approved GH¢720 Container Administrative Charge before further negotiations on the fee can resume.

Transport Minister Joseph Bukari Nikpe, speaking on Channel One TV's The Point of View, said the position follows a court ruling that dismissed an application seeking to block implementation of the charge.

“Before we will agree, they will have to be collecting or charging the GH¢720 as we communicated to them before we can sit together with them,” he said.

The GH¢720 charge is the regulatory ceiling for the Container Administrative Charge on import and export containers measured by Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit (TEU).

Mr Nikpe said government remains open to discussions with the affected companies, but only after they comply with the approved charge.

Meanwhile, the Transport Minister says a sharp increase in container volumes is contributing to congestion at Ghana’s ports.

He said container volumes have increased by almost 100 per cent, describing the surge as unprecedented in the past 20 years.

“But the truth of the matter is that the container volumes have increased almost to 100 per cent, which has never been recorded in the past 20 years at the port,” he said. 

The surge has created operational challenges at the Meridian Port Services (MPS) Terminal at Tema, with delays in cargo clearance and pressure on available terminal space.

Mr Nikpe said government is working to remove containers that have overstayed at the port.

“It is for us as a government to ensure that containers that are overstayed in the port are evacuated,” he said.

He said shipping lines were also being encouraged to evacuate empty containers that have remained at the port for extended periods.

Government is also working with the Railway Development Authority to temporarily move some containers from the port to available space at one of its terminals.

Mr Nikpe said the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority has also been instructed to acquire two additional cranes to improve cargo handling and reduce delays.