Government Signs US $ 200 Million Contract for Construction of Military Base in Western Region

General News of Thursday, July 25, 2019

Source: ghananewsagency.org

2019-07-25

Government has signed a contract worth US $ 200 million for the construction of a Forward Operating Base (FOB) at Edzinlibo in the Western Region for the protection of the country's oil and gas infrastructure.

The Navy 's fleet would be able to provide additional services to the United States Navy' s fleet.

The move follows Ghana's historic victory over neighbouring Ivory Coast in 2017 at the Special Chamber of the International Court of the Sea (ITLOS) in Germany, during a three-year maritime boundary dispute.

The Chamber, on Saturday, September 23, 2017, ruled that Ghana has not violated any maritime boundary of Cote d'Ivoire and the two countries has signed an agreement towards the implementation of the Tribunal's ruling.

The Forward Operating Position is a commonly used operational standard.

Mr Dominic Nitiwul, the Minister of Defense, at the opening of the International Maritime Defense Conference and Conference in Accra on Wednesday.

The two-day conference, which is also marking the 60th Anniversary of the Ghana Navy, was held by naval staffs in Africa and across the world, coastal guards, service chiefs, researchers, regulators and players in the maritime industry.

They will discuss maritime challenges, exchange ideas, and share information on maritime safety and maritime security solutions.

The delegates will share various maritime strategies to ensure safe and secure maritime environment in the Gulf of Guinea and across the world.

It is being held under the theme: "Empowering Regional Collaboration to Enhance Marine Security and Regional Development in the Gulf of Guinea", while the Ghana Navy's 60th anniversary is being marked on the theme: "Celebrating 60 Years of Naval Excellence, Securing the Maritime Domain for National Development ".

There were more than 80 defense solutions providers across the world exhibiting various solutions to maritime security threats.

Mr Nitiwul reiterated the need for all maritime stakeholders to foster collaboration to deal decisively with maritime safety and security threats.

He said that security threats to the maritime domain transcended across borders and has the propensity to affect international trade and coastal nations, considering the fact that, maritime trade accounted for 80 per cent of the global trade.

Mr Nitiwul said the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFA) would not be successful, unless it was secured maritime domain, adding that, 39 out of 55 African Union countries are coastal states.

The Defense Minister observed that the maritime sector was the backbone of the Ghanaian economy because of the ports and harbors served as the gateway for more than 80 percent of the international trade and vital for the country's revenue mobilization.

Mr Nitiwul called for strengthening of the African Integrated Maritime Strategy and Inter-Agency Cooperation, as well as joint and combined cooperation between maritime security agencies and stakeholders.

He was of the belief that it was critical in dealing with maritime threats, and that it would be helpful in information sharing and intelligence, and thus, expressed excitement over the presence of the technological solution providers at the conference.

Mr Nitiwul said the oil and gas resources and its badociated industries were important to the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and would be a significant increase.

Therefore, protecting the Ghanaian maritime domain is crucial for achieving the "Ghana Beyond Aid" agenda, as espoused by the Government, he added.

Mr Nitiwul, for example, is a seafaring agent who deals with illegal and unrestricted fishing, maritime pollution, sea robbery, illegal bunkering and the litany of maritime crime.

The Minister Commended the Ghana Navy for executing its mandate of protecting the country's territorial waters with excellence over the past 60 years, saying that, efforts are underway to achieve maritime domain awareness through satellite imagery and other maritime solutions while in Ghana Airforce was complementing the Navy with aircrafts to protect the country's maritime domain.

He said the collaboration between the United States and the United States continues to yield positive results and cited the recent crackdown on smuggling syndicates, as a result of that collaboration.

Mr Nitiwul is a member of the Ghana Marine Police, Ghana Maritime Authority, Ghana Ports and Harbors Authority, Ghana Petroleum Commission and the National Petroleum Corporation, as well as other stakeholders and international partners, to the country's maritime area and make the Gulf of Guinea a more safer place.