Pre-feasibility study on an inland water container transport service at Lake Volta, Ghana

Abstract

The inland waters of Ghana have a considerable potential for the operation of inland water transport (IWT) services. These services could be part of a multimodal transport corridor, to connect the northern regions and the northern landlocked countries with the industrial southern part of the country, which also includes the port of Tema, one of the gateways of the landlocked countries. However, despite the many advantages of IWT, these waters are currently barely used for freight transportation. The absence of a high quality IWT service is mainly unfortunate, as Ghana suffers from the consequences of the unilateral road transport market: the many trucks leads to congestions, traffic hazards and long (and unreliable) transport times. Besides this, the freight transportation by road is rather expensive.
An IWT service on the Ghanaian inland waters could be able to improve the cost and time performances of the Ghanaian transit corridor.
The Ghanaian inland waters are mainly formed by Lake Volta and the upstream Volta Rivers. The water levels of these waters are subject to the local climate, which results in (very) low water levels during the dry season (from November to July). The water levels of Lake Volta allow year round navigation, but that does not hold for the Volta Rivers. In fact, Buipe Port, along the Black Volta, is probably the most upstream location that can be reached for most part of the year, while a year round accessibility can be guaranteed after dredging a shoal, a bit downstream of the port.
The potential container market for the IWT service is quite small, being about 8,000 TEUs per year. Nearly all these containers are currently transported by road from Tema Port to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Due to the congestions and (bad) conditions of roads and trucks, the northbound journey (about 1,000 km) takes about four days. The corresponding price for transport is also very high, being about USD 2,600 for a 20 ft. container. The only commercial IWT service at Lake Volta, is not able to deliver better performances, due to bad and inappropriate equipment.
The feasibility of three different IWT services is investigated: roll-on/roll-off of truck/trailer combinations or roll trailers on the one hand, and lift-on/lift-off of containers on the other hand. All the alternatives are based on the concept of barges being pushed by push tugs, as this is the most promising concept from a financial point of view.
It can be concluded that the potential transit container market of 8,000 TEU/year, for which the IWT service has to compete for, is too small to result in a profitable service. However, when relocating the transit traffic (clearance) procedures from Tema Port to Buipe Port, the yearly container throughput via Lake Volta will be much higher, making an IWT service viable and profitable. Besides, this relocation will result in extra space in the port of Tema, and can result in more efficient clearance procedures, thereby decreasing the total door-to-door time of transit traffic.