Accra, May 19, GNA - President John Evans Atta Mills on Tuesday called on the governments involved in the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) project to fully put their weight behind the project for their nations to get its full benefits.
He said Government was happy that some progress had been made by WAGP mooted by Ghana and urged the project's handlers to find ways to ensure regular supply of gas to the citizens.
Ghana has indicated its readiness to marshal resources to pay its debt of $12.24 million towards construction cost. President Mills, in a discussion with a delegation from WAGP project led its Chief Executive Officer, Mr Jack Derrickson, stressed that it was necessary to fashion out what could be done for the success of the project in order to reduce the cost of providing gas and electricity.
The 680-km pipeline stretches from Nigeria, where the natural gas is sourced from the oil and gas-rich Niger Delta, across Benin and Togo to Ghana. Benin and Togo will each take relatively small amounts of the fuel, with the bulk going to the industrial centres of Tema and Takoradi in Ghana.
The initial 30 million cubic feet of gas per day is expected to help address recent power shortages in Ghana, which have forced some companies to suspend operations.
Since construction began in 2005, the project has suffered repeated delays due to political instability in the Niger Delta, damage to the pipeline and, most recently, high levels of moisture in the gas. Many observers also attribute recent delays to political sensitivities surrounding the project, as many Nigerians have objected to the export of gas to its neighbours when less than 40 per cent of Nigerians have access to the country's unreliable supply of electricity. President Mills noted that the laudable reasons for the initiation of the project had not changed and had even become more important in recent times, and assured the delegation that the Government of Ghana was open and ready to collaborate to ensure the success of the project for the benefit of the people.
Deputy Energy Minister Dr Kwabena Donkor said the project represented a concrete step in the integration process of the West African sub-region.
He said the power supply would depend on a constant flow of gas. Mr Derrickson noted the strong demand for the supply of gas in both Nigeria and the sub-region, but operational problems in the Niger Delta had led serious gas shortage problems in both Nigeria and member nations of the project.
