NDC government will establish Atuabo Freeport in Nzema - John Mahama pledges

Former President John Mahama has promised to provide jobs build the delayed Atuabo Freeport for the people of the Ellembelle District of the Western Region when elected as President in 2020.

The former President who is now the Presidential Candidate of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) made the above utterance where he paid a courtesy call on the Paramount Chief of Eastern Nzema Traditional Council, Awulea Amihere Kpanyinli at Atuabo during his two days "Thank You Tour" in the Region.

He told the people of the Ellembelle District that the NPP in opposition deliberately used some means to delay the project.

He said the project will create a lot of jobs for the teeming unemployed in the Nzemaland and therefore called on them to support him to win the 2020 elections to honour his pledge.

"We planned to establish oil services port here but there was misunderstanding and our brothers on other side took the project to court to delay the project until we lost power but it is very important project and it is going to help oil and gas industry" he added.

John Mahama revealed that "Aside the Freeport, we also planned to build Gas Processing plant in Port in Eastern Nzema,... Western Nzema, we were bringing petrochemical plants and the designs we did are there and we will get petrochemical plants, oil refinery, fertilizer plant and these are in Western Nzema, so we have to come and continue these projects and create jobs for this area".

On his part, the Chief of Nzema Akropong, Nana Adu Kwame commended former President John Dramani Mahama for his vision of establishing the Ghana Gas Company Limited at Atuabo in the Nzemaland of the Western Region adding that but for him, the project would not have existed.

He said the chiefs and people of Nzema will therefore forever be indebted to the John Mahama administration for putting Ghana's gas infrastructure on their land.

“What I want to say is that in time past what your party did for us we appreciate but for you we would not have had Ghana Gas on our soil. You did it for us and today we are seeing a lot of things. You added ENI the other day I met some”, he acknowledged.

In July 2014, Parliament approved an agreement between the Government of Ghana and British company Lonrho Ports for the development of an oil and gas free port at Atuabo.

The US$700 million Atuabo Freeport project was expected to be operational in 2017 and serve as a regional hub in promoting safe and efficient offshore businesses but this did not materialize.