GOVT TO BUILD INDUSTRIAL ESTATE IN WR (PAGE 23, MAY 8, 2010)

The government will build an industrial estate in the Western Region to house the petrochemical and other industrial facilities which will come along with onshore gas processing.
The Deputy Minister of Energy, Mr Emmanuel Kofi Armah Buah, who announced this, said there was also the need for a mini harbour, warehousing facilities, rail lines and storage tanks to contain the flow of the gas to the shore.
He said with the present projects offshore which has a huge gas deposit, there was the need to put the structures in place to receive gas and the industrial estate was the perfect facility to take care of that in an acceptable manner.
In line with that, the deputy minister said, a pipeline had been constructed from the riser station offshore to convey gas to the proposed gas processing plant at Bonyere in the Western Region.
The receptacle onshore, he said, would lead to the production of products such as ethanol, propane and fertiliser, as well as boost the country’s power generation and change the face of the communities around the plant.
“With the availability of gas as a cheap energy source, all sorts of industrial activities could take place in the areas with the proper structures in place,” he said.
Mr Buah said the prospects of the oil discovery were endless for local professionals and investors.
He said the government would create the perfect environment for locals to move into other areas and urged the youth to take their studies seriously.
The deputy minister also said the entire shore of the country, from Half-Assini to Aflao, held huge deposits of oil and gas which could be bigger than the Jubilee fields.
He said there was the firm belief that the Jubilee project would be replicated in other parts of the country soon.
The deputy minister said what was important was to build a strong local content and put the necessary infrastructure in place to ensure that the country was ready.
There were suggestions and questions from various communities at the forum.