Ghana’s Tema Port is to undergo a major refurbishment in a bid to maximise the country’s export potential for a wide range of produce including mangoes, papayas, passionfruit, peppers, ginger and aubergines.

“Currently, fruits are kept standing in the sun and rain for hours before they’re loaded on to vessels,” said Mawuli Agboka, head of the agriculture ministry’s Horticultural Export Industry Initiative. “That seriously affects the quality and taste of the products.”

Work is under way to turn one of the port’s sheds into a refrigerated warehouse to keep fruit fresh before export, primarily to Europe and the US. It will be equipped to handle eight different kinds of horticultural produce at once.

Separate chambers will allow storage of produce which may require different temperatures to maintain freshness. The shed will cover 4,400m2 and be equipped with 10 docking bays.

The investment is set to cost US$4 million, and is expected to be completed by April 2007, and then commissioned before the end of June.