Job Description

Technical Assistance for the Development of the VLTS Project Development Plan

Volta Lake Transport System (VLTS)

Background

The Volta Lake Transport System (VLTS) is a flagship initiative under Ghana's 24-Hour Economy Programme aimed at restoring Lake Volta as the inland-waterway backbone of the Tema–Tamale corridor. Northbound freight in Ghana is road-locked, expensive, and slow, while Lake Volta offers a natural 415 km north–south corridor with approximately seven million tonnes of addressable cargo a year.

The project is a single integrated inland-water transport system linking Tema to Tamale via Lake Volta, comprising four primary ports (Buipe, Akosombo, Mpakadan and Yapei) and twenty-two secondary terminals, pushboats and dual-purpose barges, International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO)-standard navigability, and commercial cargo concessions held under VLTS Ltd, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) led by the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF). Indicative project components include ports and landing infrastructure, the marine fleet and shipyard, the navigability programme, handling equipment, and working capital. Targeted capacity is up to eight million tonnes per annum and 60,000 TEU of transit potential, with fuel, containers, breakbulk and chilled-chain output. The project is currently at an early stage of development under a proposed concession framework, with a Volta River Authority (VRA) concession under technical drafting.

While a range of work has already been undertaken, there is a need to consolidate this work into a clear and coordinated pathway for project development. This includes identifying what has already been completed, what activities remain outstanding, and the sequencing, institutional roles and responsibilities, and key decisions required to progress the project toward implementation.

To support this process, the UK’s flagship economic growth initiative, the Ghana Jobs and Economic Transformation (JET) Programme, seeks a Consultant to support the 24H+ Authority to develop a practical Project Development Plan through a structured consultative process. The process will strengthen coordination across Government of Ghana stakeholders, build institutional ownership, and support the 24H+ Authority to guide project development beyond the life of the assignment.

Scope

Working under the direction of the 24H+ Authority and in close collaboration with the Ghana JET Programme

team, the Consultant shall undertake the following tasks:

• Review existing documentation, including available technical, commercial, and institutional studies, project documentation, planning materials, and any other relevant information identified to prepare an initial draft Project Development Plan and identify the key project development dimensions, assumptions, activities, dependencies, and decision points requiring further refinement.
• Design and facilitate a structured stakeholder engagement and consultation process to co-develop the Project Development Plan with the 24H+ Authority and relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), including but not limited to the Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Roads and Highways, Ministry of Finance, GIIF, VRA, Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), regional authorities, development partners, and other stakeholders identified by the 24H+ Authority. The process shall build shared ownership and commitment across government stakeholders, ensuring the final Plan reflects an agreed pathway for development and implementation.
• Facilitate the iterative development of an end-to-end Project Development Plan for VLTS, sequencing the phases required to move the project from concept to commissioning, including the remaining feasibility and supporting technical studies, port and landing site preparation, navigability works, fleet procurement and shipyard development, statutory approvals and permits, concession and transaction structuring, financing, procurement and construction.
• Define, for each activity or project development dimension included in the Plan, the deliverables, responsible owner, key inputs and dependencies, indicative duration, decision gates, coordination requirements, and approval requirements, including the interfaces between the 24H+ Authority, GIIF, VRA, VLTS Ltd., and the Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) and marine operating partners.
• Develop practical implementation tools for use by project owners, including an activity and milestone tracker, stakeholder roles and responsibilities matrix, and a risk register template.
• Identify and document the institutional, regulatory, and resourcing requirements necessary to advance each stage of project development, including safeguards, labour transition, and multimodal integration with the Tema–Mpakadan rail and the Tamale Air Cargo and Export Hub, and flag critical risks, dependencies, decision gates, and proposed mitigation measures.
• Progressively refine the Project Development Plan and implementation tools based on stakeholder consultations.
• Facilitate a validation session with the 24H+ Authority and key stakeholders to review and confirm the Plan and tools.

Objectives

To lead the design and delivery of an actionable, 24H+-owned project development plan that sets out the critical path for moving VLTS from strong investor interest to an investment-ready proposition, financial close and commissioning. The plan will define the key decisions, activities, responsibilities, resources, timelines and decision gates required across the issues currently identified — including the commercial and ownership model, land, demand and offtake, regulatory approvals and infrastructure financing — as well as any additional requirements that emerge through the planning process.

Deliverables

The Consultant shall submit the following deliverables in English, in both editable Word and PDF formats. All deliverables shall be developed in close collaboration with the 24H+ Authority and the Ghana JET Programme Team and shall reflect the outcomes of the structured stakeholder engagement process described in this Terms of Reference.

Prior to final acceptance, the Consultant shall present the draft final Project Development Plan and implementation tools to the 24H+ Authority and other stakeholders as directed. The Consultant shall incorporate agreed comments and feedback arising from this review process into the final deliverables.

Duration and Level Effort

The assignment is expected to be completed over approximately six (6) to eight (8) weeks from the date of contract signature. The Consultant shall submit a detailed workplan in the Inception Report setting out the sequencing of activities and stakeholder engagement process.

The indicative level of effort is expected to be approximately 30-35 person-days. However, the Consultant shall propose an appropriate staffing approach and level of effort commensurate with their proposed methodology and workplan.

Any extension to the assignment period beyond the agreed duration shall require prior written agreement of Ghana JET.

Required Qualifications:

Essential criteria

The Consultant shall demonstrate the following:

1. An advanced degree in engineering, project management, economics, finance, business administration, planning or a related field.
2. At least seven (7) years' experience in project development, transport or maritime infrastructure, transaction advisory, or capital project delivery.
3. Demonstrated experience preparing project development roadmaps, implementation plans or feasibility work for large capital projects, preferably including ports, inland waterways, rail, or multimodal logistics corridors.
4. Familiarity with concession frameworks, climate finance, and development finance institution requirements, and with public–private partnership and investment structuring is an advantage.
5. Demonstrated experience working with Government institutions, aviation authorities, development partners, and private concessionaires to facilitate complex, multi-stakeholder planning and coordination processes.
6. Proven ability to deliver high-quality outputs within tight timelines.
7. Excellent analytical, facilitation and report writing skills in English. Given the consultative nature of the assignment, demonstrated experience engaging senior Government stakeholders in Ghana, building consensus across multiple institutions, facilitating complex multi-stakeholder processes, and leveraging established professional networks to support timely stakeholder engagement will be considered a strong advantage.

Reporting and Coordination

The Consultant shall report to the 24H+ Authority through the designated Project Lead for VLTS and shall coordinate closely with the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund, the Volta River Authority, VLTS Ltd and the UK Ghana Jobs and Economic Transformation Programme (JET) team. Regular progress meetings shall be held throughout the assignment at inception, following preparation of the draft Project Development Plan, following completion of stakeholder consultations, and following the validation session. Additional meetings may be convened as required.

The Consultant shall be responsible for coordinating stakeholder engagements, maintaining records of consultations undertaken, documenting key decisions and agreed actions arising from those engagements, and ensuring that feedback is appropriately reflected in subsequent iterations of the Plan. The Consultant shall proactively identify risks to delivery, including delays to stakeholder engagement or decision-making, and promptly communicate these with proposed mitigation measures. All data, documents and outputs produced under this assignment shall remain the property of the 24H+ Authority and shall be treated as confidential.

Submission Requirements

Interested Consultants (including individuals, consulting firms, and consortia) shall submit a technical proposal setting out their understanding of the assignment, proposed methodology, stakeholder engagement approach, and delivery schedule, together with curriculum vitae (or, where applicable, details of the proposed team) evidencing the qualifications above, two references for comparable assignments, and a financial proposal quoting an all-inclusive fee for the assignment.

Application Instructions

If this assignment is of interest, please submit the following via the application portal or to benjamin.nimoh@thepalladiumgroup.com and ghanajet@thepalladiumgroup.com by September 30, 2026:

1. Curriculum vitae (maximum 3 pages) evidencing relevant experience and total years of experience.
2. Track-Record Statement (maximum 2 pages) and practical experiences and sample work of similar nature to designing Lake, Sea or River Transport Systems and Infrastructure.
3. Approach note (maximum 2 pages) detailing the applicant’s proposed approach completing the assignment within the timeframe provided
4. Proposed daily fee rate and Level of effort required.
5. Applications meeting the essential criteria are scored against the weighted criteria in Section

Evaluation Criteria

Criteria-descriptionWeight Evidence assessed Depth and relevance of existing or previous work experience 25%Track-Record Statement; CV Track record, experience and Sample works of similar projects or assignments 30%Track-Record Statement; CV, referees Depth and seniority of relevant experience in infrastructure design and development either with National or International Experiences15% CV (years; confirms rate-card band) Quality and relevance of proposed approach, including understanding of the assignment and feasibility of the approach to completing the assignment within timeframe 15%Approach and Methodology Innovativeness and availability to complete the assignment 15% Approach Note Total 100%

Please note that Proposal reviews will be done on rolling basis. If you do not hear from our evaluations team in two weeks after submission of your applications, kindly deem your application as unsuccessful.

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