Ghana president inaugurates China-funded gas infrastructure project

Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama officially inaugurated Ghana's first natural gas infrastructure project at Atuabo, some 218 km west of the capital, on Wednesday.

The multi-million dollar project was constructed by Sinopec, China's biggest oil and Gas Company and funded by the China Development Bank.

It has the capacity to process about 120 million cubic feet of gas from the Jubilee Oil Field daily and has since been processing and supplying gas to the Volta River Authority to run thermal plants to generate electricity.

Mahama said the processing plant is a game changer that would help Ghana's micro economic stability in terms of reducing the pressure on its foreign exchange reserves.

He expressed Ghana appreciation to the Chinese government and Sinopec for the loan facility, the technical support and the delivery of the project in good time.

"We definitely would not have been here but for the funds that were made available by the People's Republic of China," he said.

Chinese Ambassador to Ghana Sun Baohong said the completion of the plant would enable Ghana to harness the gas resources within its own capacity and take the initiative of transforming the advantage of resources into the strength of development.

"China is happy to be part of this process, sharing the bright prospects of Ghana's industry of gas," she said.

Alfred Ogbamey, the head of corporate affairs at the Ghana Gas Company said the facility has added on to the knowledge base and experience of Ghanaians.

"It has been a challenging task but it turned out well," he said. Endit