The Supreme Court has brought the long-running legal battle over the Boankra Inland Logistics Terminal Project to a decisive close by unanimously rejecting Ashanti Port Services Limited’s (APSL) attempt to reinstate a $33.3 million arbitral award against Justmoh Construction Limited.
In a unanimous decision delivered by a five-member panel chaired by Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, the apex court dismissed APSL’s application as lacking merit, effectively affirming the High Court’s earlier decision that nullified the arbitral award and ending the company’s final legal challenge.
The judgment reinforces the May 6, 2026 decision of Justice John-Mark Nuku Alifo of the High Court’s Commercial Division, who ruled that APSL was not legally competent to initiate the arbitration proceedings that resulted in the disputed award.
The courts found that APSL commenced arbitration without obtaining the required corporate approval from its board of directors, depriving the company of the legal capacity to sue.
That defect, the judges held, went to the very foundation of the proceedings.
Although APSL later convened a board meeting to ratify the arbitration after questions were raised about its authority, both the High Court and the Supreme Court ruled that the subsequent approval could not retrospectively validate proceedings that were defective from the outset.
Another key issue considered by the courts was the ownership of the disputed funds.
The judges agreed that APSL had no legal entitlement to recover the $33.3 million because the funds had been provided entirely by the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), which paid Justmoh Construction directly under a share subscription arrangement to keep the project alive.
The dispute originated in August 2022 when APSL awarded Justmoh Construction the Phase 1A contract for the Boankra Inland Logistics Terminal Project.
However, APSL failed to secure the private financing required under its concession agreement, prompting GPHA to step in with financial support to ensure work could commence.
In August 2023, the Ghana Shippers’ Authority terminated APSL’s concession after the company failed to meet its financial obligations, resulting in the government taking over the project.
Four months later, APSL initiated arbitration seeking a refund of the same funds that had been advanced by GPHA, despite no longer being the concessionaire.
Although an arbitral tribunal ruled in APSL’s favour in late 2025, the High Court set aside that award before the Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the decision.
The panel that delivered the final judgment comprised Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, Justices Asiedu, Richard Adjei-Frimpong Kwofie, Senyo Dzamefe Kodwo, and Ernest Yao Gaewu Amaleboba.
Lead Counsel for Justmoh Construction, Professor Kwame Gyan, welcomed the ruling, saying it validated his client’s position throughout the litigation.
“We have always had confidence in our brief because we know the facts support our case. It comes as no surprise that the Supreme Court agrees with us. Due process has won,” he said.
He described the judgment as an important affirmation of corporate governance, judicial scrutiny, and accountability in the management of major public infrastructure projects.
