ACU Feb-19 3rd Draft

GLOBAL NEWS
Ghana posts 20% cargo
growth in ports
ACCRA, Ghana: Cargo traffic
through the Ports of Ghana grew by
20% in 2018 compared to 2017 as the
country’s trade and other economic
activities continue to flourish.
“We have seen our cargo traffic
grow and the statistics indicate that
we have a growth of at least 20%
above that of 2017,” Michael Luguje,
the acting Director General of Ghana
Ports and Harbors, said in the
agency’s website.
The West African nation’s diverse
and rich resource base economy
enabled it to post one of the highest
GDP per capita in the region.
According to the Observatory of
Economic Complexity (OEC), Ghana
exported $16.5 billion and imported
$12.5 billion in 2016, resulting in a
positive trade balance of $3.97
billion.
The country’s top exports include
gold ($9.4b), cocoa beans ($2.21b),
crude petroleum ($1.19b), coconuts,
brazil nuts, and cashews ($619m) and
cocoa paste ($400m), using the 1992
revision of the hs (harmonized
system) classification, which mainly
goes to Switzerland, the UAE, India,
China and the Netherlands.
Its top imports are cars ($703m),
delivery trucks ($398m), refined
petroleum ($336m), cement ($289m)
and non-fillet frozen fish ($276m),
mainly sourced from China, the UK,
t h e U S , I n d i a a n d B e l g i u m -
Luxembourg.
IBISTEK Ghana ltd., a wholly-owned
Ghanaian company engaged in port
infrastructure development, recently
signed an Engineering Procurement
and Construction (EPC) contract with
international marine engineering
firm Jan De Nul (JDN) to begin the
fi r s t p h a s e o f t h e p h y s i c a l
construction of the multipurpose
container terminal in Takoradi called
the Atlantic Terminal.
Minister for Transport Kwaku Ofori
Asiamah said the expansion of the
Port of Takoradi will open up the
c o u n t r y f o r m o r e b u s i n e s s
opportunities.
“We think that the time has come
for Africa to take advantage of our
marine resources and the port
expansion project is part of that,” he
said.
Ghana borders Burkina Faso, Cote
d'Ivoire and Togo by land and Benin
and Nigeria by sea.
AirAsia X and Unilode
extend ULD
management
partnership until 2023
ZURICH: AirAsia X, the longhaul
affiliate of AirAsia, and
Unilode Aviation Solutions
have extended their ULD
management agreement until
2023.
This is the second time
Unilode, the leading global
provider of outsourced Unit
Load Device (ULD)
management and repair
solutions, and AirAsiaX,
extended their partnership
agreement.
AirAsia's wholly-owned
subsidiary, Red Cargo Logistics,
lauded the partnership
agreement which it said drives
efficiencies, load capacity and
digitalization
“AirAsia X has been Unilode's
loyal customer since 2009 and
throughout their partnership
has relied on Unilode's
support, expertise and
flexibility to supply containers
and pallets that meet its
exponential passenger and
cargo growth and the network
demands placed on its
widebody fleet,” said Pete
Chareonwongsak, Red Cargo
Logistics CEO.
Benoît Dumont, Unilode
CEO, said the company is
pleased with its new
partnership with AirAsiaX.
"AirAsia X is one of the
fastest growing long-haul, lowcost
airlines in the world with
more than 100 widebody
aircraft on order, an increasing
cargo business and a pipeline
of new destinations to be
added to its network,” he said.
“Unilode continuously
enhances its ULD management
service by taking its customers'
input, expectations and
business objectives into
account and is committed to
support AirAsia X's ambitious
growth plans with customerfocused
and innovative ULD
solutions,” he added.