Turkey-based Yilport Holding has signed a Memorandum of Understanding agreement with Ghana’s Ibis Tek to operate the container terminal and other port infrastructure at the Port of Takoradi.

“Yilport and Ibis Tek will establish a joint venture company of Yilport Takoradi Port Management Company on 70-30 basis respectively to invest in and operate the Takoradi Port. The project scope is to develop the existing container terminal in three phases to reach up to 2.25M TEU annual capacity. The joint venture company, under the vision and management of Yilport, will also develop multipurpose berths for liquid, bulk and general cargo operations for about 20 Mtpa handling capacity,” Yilport said in an announcement.

Ibis Tek is a Ghanian company formed in 2005 that provides civil engineering, construction and operation services in the energy, telecommunications and port sectors. In 2018, Ibis Tek was awarded a 25-year concession to operate the multipurpose terminal at the Port of Takoradi. It also holds a separate concession with the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), through a wholly-owned subsidiary TACOTEL Limited, to operate an off-dock depot near the port.

Yilport said it will invest over US$700M at Takoradi to expand the port, including building access roads and gate facilities, plus adding a tank farm to handle 2.5 Mtpa of liquid products. Marine terminal facilities will be expanded to total 2.5km of berth with a draft of -14m to -16.5m. Yilport is expected to take over operations in Q2 2023.

The company said Takoradi is a “strategic investment” and a “milestone” for Yilport as the 23rd marine terminal in its portfolio and the first in Africa.

“I am very honoured and excited to welcome Takoradi Port into the Yilport Holding family,” said Robert Yuksel Yildirim, Chairman and CEO of Yilport Holding. “Takoradi Port will be Yilport’s first step into the African continent, and it will be a gemstone in our vision to rank among the top 10 global container terminal operators by 2030. Takoradi Port has a great potential to serve the African and Atlantic marine trade. We look forward to unlock that strong potential and grow Takoradi and Ghana internationally. We will transfer Yilport’s experience and process excellence methodology to boost efficiency, productivity, while increasing Takoradi’s portfolio of customers. We are looking forward to increasing and expanding the brand of Takoradi Port and as well as Yilport. At Yilport, we are excited about this unique challenge and opportunity.”

Yilport’s entry into Takoradi is also likely to impact the GPHA’s ongoing search for a foreign investor to develop a new container terminal at Keta. Expansion on the scale Yilport plans for Takoradi, plus port capacity at Tema, weakens the case that Ghana needs a third major port at Keta.