Court Overturns $33.3m Arbitration Cost …Against Justmoh Construction

An Accra High Court (Commercial Division 2) has overturned the entire final arbitral award, dated December 10, 2025 in which Ashanti Port Services Limited (APSL) had obtained an order against Justmoh Construction Limited for the repayment of US$33.3 million.

The decision of the court, presided over by Justice John-Mark Nuku Alifo, thus nullifies a December 2025 decision that would have forced Justmoh to refund the massive sum to Ashanti Port Services Limited (APSL), in connection with the Boankra Inland Logistics Terminal project, a flagship inland port project.

The ruling follows submissions of the lead counsel of Justmoh Construction Limited, Prof. Kwame Ghana, Esq.

The 40-page ruling, which centred on fundamental jurisdictional and procedural failures, on three key legal findings, effectively clears Justmoh Construction of the $33.3 million liability, bringing the Boankra project dispute to a conclusion.

The Court set aside the arbitral award stating that apart from APSL lacking capacity to commence the arbitration, the same capacity cannot also be acquired midway.

The judgement further raised the issue of the composition of the board itself.

It rejected APSL’s contention that by taking part in the arbitral proceedings, Justmoh had waived its right to challenge jurisdiction.

The court contended that participation in the arbitration did not amount to a waiver of jurisdictional objections and that APSL had no cause of action at the time of the arbitration.

Based on the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act, 2010 (Act 798), the High Court concluded that the initial arbitration was flawed from its inception.

Justice Alifo’s 40-page judgement cited lack of Legal Capacity, Invalid Board Actions and No Valid claims.

The Court ruled that APSL lacked the authority to initiate arbitration in the first place. Justice Alifo noted that legal capacity is the “heart of jurisdiction” and a lack of authority cannot be retroactively fixed.

It was also established that APSL’s board was found to be improperly constituted. In violation of its own Shareholders’ Agreement, directors from the Ghana Shippers’ Authority and the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) were excluded from the meeting, where the legal action was authorised.

It said APSL had no standing to pursue a claim against Justmoh because the government had already terminated APSL’s concession agreement before the arbitration began.

With regards to the true nature of the $33.3 million, which APSL argued the money was a refundable loan, the Court discovered that the funds actually came from the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) as part of a share subscription.

“APSL could not demand a refund for funds it did not provide,” the court argued and added that  APSL failed to meet the financial milestones required by its contract.

The dispute formally commenced on December 19, 2023, when the Ghana Arbitration Centre received a Notice of Arbitration from the Ashanti Post Services.

The Ashanti Ports Services Limited had filed a notice of arbitration at the Ghana Arbitration Centre to seek redress for alleged unlawful termination of contract as a concessionaire for the Boankra Integrated and Logistics Terminal (BILT) project.

This was followed by the Respondent’s (Justmoh Construction Limited) answer on January 10, 2024 and the Claimant’s Reply on January 22, 2024 after which the GAC constituted a three-member tribunal made up of Mr. Emmanuel Amofa, Professor Richard Frimpong Oppong, and Justice Nene A.O. Amegatcher, (Presiding) on February 12, 2024.

As a result, the Ghana Arbitration Centre of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law Arbitrations Rules (UNCITRAL Rules) in a unanimous decision ordered Justmoh Construction Limited to refund US$33.3 million to Ashanti Port Services Limited as the outstanding balance of advance mobilisation paid over disputes arising from the Boankra Inland Port (BILT) project.

The amount was to attract simple interest at a rate of four percent per annum, calculated from 30 days after receipt of the award until full payment.

The tribunal also directed Ashanti Port Services Limited to pay US$ 7,107,456.70 to Justmoh Construction Limited as compensation for earthworks executed at the project site.

But the High Court of Justice (Commercial Division 2) sitting in Accra on Wednesday set aside the arbitral award dated December 10, 2025 in its entirety.

 

 

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