Ghana importers push rail-linked empty container depots to cut port costs

Ghana's importers want empty shipping containers moved off port land and onto the country's railway network, a proposal they say would cut congestion at Tema and other gateways and strip retention charges out of the cost of imports. The Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana tabled the plan during a courtesy call on the Ghana Railway Development Authority, arguing that limited space for receiving empties is now a measurable drag on trade.

The proposal is concrete: convert suitable sites along the railway network into holding depots where empty containers can be stored and retrieved when shipping lines need them. Executive Secretary Samson Asaki Awingobit said the facilities would free up capacity at the ports and improve container management across the chain.

Why are empty containers driving up import costs?

The problem starts after discharge. When importers cannot return empty containers promptly, trucks sit parked at shipping lines' empty container terminals for days because there is nowhere to receive the boxes. Each day of waiting generates truck retention charges that stack onto transport costs.

Those costs do not stay with importers. Awingobit explained that the additional expenses raise operational costs for importers and are eventually passed on to consumers through higher prices on store shelves.

"That is the way to go. You can always send the empty containers there and bring them when the vessel is ready," Awingobit said of the depot plan, describing a system where empties cycle through rail-linked yards instead of clogging port surroundings.

Where does the money leak out?

Awingobit singled out the flow of fees offshore. "Those monies to MPS and the shipping lines leave the shores of Ghana," he said, arguing that charges paid to terminal operator Meridian Port Services and carriers drain foreign exchange while undermining national efforts to reduce the cost of doing business.

The proposed depots would attack this bottleneck directly. By providing alternative locations for receiving and storing empties, they would reduce delays in the return process and cut the retention charges that accumulate when trucks queue with no space to drop their loads.

What role would rail freight play?

The depot proposal sits inside a broader push by the Association for rail-based logistics. The group is calling for stronger collaboration among the railway authority, port operators, shipping lines and other stakeholders to improve cargo movement.

It also wants more cargo moved from the ports to inland locations by rail rather than road. In the Association's framing, greater rail use would reduce reliance on trucks, ease pressure on Ghana's road network and smooth the movement of goods nationwide.

Awingobit assured the railway authority of the Association's backing for initiatives to improve freight transportation. His caveat signalled that support is conditional: the Association will hold the relevant institutions accountable for delivering on their commitments.

For shippers and forwarders moving cargo through Ghana, the immediate practical question is execution. The Association has put a workable concept on the table, but any relief from retention charges and port congestion depends on the railway authority, MPS and the shipping lines converting rail-side land into functioning container yards, with carriers agreeing to accept returns there.