Mr Brain Adomako, Board Chairman of the GPHA, said the relative stability and peace Ghana is enjoying has given it an advantage and greater prospects over its competitors in the ports and harbour industry.

He said such advantages must be maintained through the government's support and encouragement, adding that the GPHA is currently embarking on a 70 million-dollar expansion programme that would enable it to position itself for the challenges of the growing market challenges in the West African sub-region.

"Today, owing to the problems in Lomé, Togo, and other countries in West Africa, most countries are using Ghana's ports, which means that the market keeps expanding, so we must brace ourselves for it," Mr Adomako said.

He said there is the need to deepen the berthing area at the ports to enable bigger vessels with heavy containers to berth safely.

Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, thanked GPHA and said the government is satisfied with the company's operations so far.

He agreed that Ghana had advantage over her neighbours, saying "the GPHA is now a multi-national company since Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso and others are using Ghana's ports". Mr Baah-Wiredu announced that an agreement to improve operations at the sub-regional ports and harbours has been reached with the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

He pledged the government's commitment to support the GPHA with technical assistance and help it to realise the objectives of its expansion programme.