- Nigerian Firm to Invest in Ghanaian Port Project
A Nigerian firm, ARM-Harith Infrastructure Investment Limited, the manager of the ARM-Harith Infrastructure Fund has said it will partner other investors to provide equity capital for Prime Meridian Docks Ghana Limited.
According to a statement, the firm disclosed this during the inauguration of the PMD Ghana Limited’s new office located at the Port of Takoradi, Ghana.
Several dignitaries from the government of Ghana, including Ghana’s minister of transport, the director-general of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, and the director of Takoradi Port, were said to be present at the event.
The PMD is the lead sponsor of the Takoradi Floating Dock Project, which is designed for the development, financing, construction, installation, and ownership of a world-class floating dock and ship/oil rig repair and maintenance facility, pursuant to a 25-year concession granted by Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority.
Long-term financing for the project will be provided in the form of debt and equity from local and international sources, according to the statement.
Speaking at the event, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, ARMHIIL, Mr. Opuiyo Oforiokuma, said, “We are pleased to be involved in the Takoradi Floating Dock Project, not only because of its fit with ARMHIF’s investment focus on West African transport infrastructure, among other sectors, but also because of the comfort that we have in the robustness and viability of the project, and the confidence that we have in the lead sponsors, the PMD, their UK-based technical partners, Rigmar Services Limited, and their South African-based financial advisers, Liquid Africa.”
He also said, “We are encouraged by the commitment and support that the project is receiving from the government of Ghana, notably via the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority. Much credit must be given to the PMD for their flexibility in accommodating new ideas for enhancing the project, and for their determination and doggedness in driving the project to a stage where financial close should be achieved soon.
“ARMHIF aims to make a solid contribution to improving infrastructure in West Africa, particularly Nigeria, by smartly and profitably deploying our investors’ capital in infrastructure assets. Our participation in today’s ceremony in Takoradi is in keeping with those objectives.”
The ARMHIIL’s Accra-based Investment Director, Ernest Nyarko, said, “Another plus for us with this project is that its location in Takoradi is reasonably close to Aboadze where ARMHIF is an equity investor in the Amandi IPP, a l 92.4MW greenfield power generation plant that is currently under construction and scheduled to deliver power for supply in 2019.
