The Director General of the Ghana Ports and Harbors Authority, GPHA, Michael Luguje has charged players within the Port industry in the country to consider expanding their frontiers to other African countries as there are several untapped opportunities beyond the Ghana Ports that can be harnessed.
He said his outfit is however committed to ensuring that the country’s Port facilities are up to world class standards to attract enough traffic.
The Director General was speaking at the commissioning of an ultra modern four storey complex in Tema by an indigenous freight forwarding and logistics company in the country, Baj Freight and Logistics Company Limited.
Mr. Luguje noted charged industry players to take advantage of untapped potentials within other Ports in Africa.
“The GPHA as a landlord providing port services, our prime interest as the nation’s gateway to international trade is to facilitate trade to make sure port facilities are up to the levels required to attract trade into the country and to the rest of the sub-region. In doing so, we cherish partnerships such as what we have been able to build with Baj Freight Company Limited.
As I congratulate the board, management and staff for their success, I would want to challenge them to extend their success story into West and Central Africa. We are proud to know that you are employing up to 250 Ghanaians working in this organisation and we challenge you that in two years time, you should be employing 500 or one thousand,” Mr. Luguje urged.
After 12 years in the freight industry, Baj Logistics Company Limited which has varied interests in oil and gas, power, mining and telecommunication as well as agribusiness has commissioned an ultra modern office complex in Tema to serve the needs of the company’s growing demand and thus meet the needs of other industry players within the Tema enclave.
With a workforce of 15 workers in 2009, Baj Freight and Logistics Company Limited has grown into a giant in the maritime business and currently employs over 250 workers and has offices in Takoradi, Tema and other port cities across the country.
The CEO of BAJ Freight and Logistics Company Limited, Joseph Kojo Biney who expressed excitement over the company’s enlistment as an ISO certified company noted that, the commissioning of the corporate head office signifies the company’s commitment to partnering with its customers to do more exploits within the Port space.
“Baj Freight has rapidly won over the past eleven years to become one of the key companies in freight and logistics in Ghana. The new corporate head office christiened ‘the baj place’ is the testimony of the company’s commitments to patner our customers for the long haul and provide a serene environment comparable to international standards for our customers, tenants and the general public.”
Mr. Biney further added that, ” I wish to thank the Chairman of the steering committee for the strong leadership he has given to the team on our successful migration from OHSAS 18001:2007 certification to International Standards Organization’s ISO certifications in Integrated Management Systems IMS.”
In his address, a founding director, shareholder and the Chairman for the ISO implementation steering Committee for Baj Freight Company Limited Ato Quagraine said in spite of the challenges posed by the Covid-19 in 2020 the company was successful at securing the Integrated Management Systems IMS certification from the ISO which has helped placed the company on a global platform for freight and logistics management services.
“Inspite of the challenges of the pandemic at the time, we were determined to ensure that the overarching vision of meeting customer needs and exceeding their expectations pushed us to commence a journey of migrating from OHSAS 18001:2007 certification to International Standards Organization’s ISO certifications in Integrated Management Systems IMS.”
Mr. Ato Quagrine cited the ISO certification acquired by the company as; ” the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System QMS, the ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management Systems EMS and the ISO 45001:2018 Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems.”
According to him these global certifications amd recognitions have helped placed the Ghanaian company on a global platform for freight forwarding and logistics services that would go a long way to generate revenue to supporting the economy of the country.
End.