Deputy Minister of Energy in charge of Petroleum, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, has defended calls for the setting up a special authority to oversee the management of Ghana’s Petroleum Hub project.
Dr. Amin believes a dedicated authority will among other things facilitate the raising of the needed funds to develop the petroleum hub.
The hub is expected to cost about 50 billion dollars, with government expected to provide 10 percent of the amount, while private sector players will provide the remaining 90 percent
Speaking to Citi Business News, Dr. Amin Adam explained that the setting up of a separate authority will boost investor confidence in the petroleum hub project.
“I think the petroleum hub idea is a very laudable idea but it also comes with a lot of skepticism. This is because if you want to attract investments to the tune of about 50 billion dollars into a project and people have concerns about how to secure their investment, then you have to address that to give them that assurance that their investment is secure.”
Highlighting the role of the proposed authority in cutting out bureaucracies that might arise in the course of the project, Dr. Amin Adam was of the view the authority will take pressure off the Ghana Investment Promotion Center (GIPC) in attracting investments.
“We have the GIPC which by law is supposed to go out and get investments, but given their broad focus, the proposal that we have an agency that will focus on attracting investments to the hub in particular is one of the reasons why you need the authority.”
The twelve-year development project, when completed will among other things increase the presence of major international oil trading and storage companies in Ghana, while boosting partnerships between local and international companies within the sector. It will also facilitate the transfer of knowledge and Technology.
By: Bobbie Osei/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana
