President Akufu-Addo has cut sod for the construction of the $25 million Operational Head office of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) in Takoradi.
He was supported by the the chairman of the Board of Directors of the GNPC- Hon.Freddy Blay, Western Regional Minister Hon.Kobby Okyere Darko and Western Regional House of Chiefs President.
The seven-storey GNPC Operational Head office will be constructed at a total land- size of 11680 meters square, within a two year period at a cost of $25 million dollars.
The project which is designed by Ghanaian architect, the complex , a seven (7) storey, upon completion will comprises a public spaces for 300-seater auditorium, gymnasium, cafeteria and a business centre on the ground floor. The upper floors will accommodate private spaces for GNPC and lease to prospective tenants.
As part of the project design and the Government’s policy of ensuring smart energy efficiency, the office complex is designed with solar ingress and wind direction.
Upon completion, the building is expected to attain LEED certification, which measures building standards to assess their compliance with ‘all-in-one’ address of energy efficiency, water conservation,site selection, material selection, day lighting and waste reduction. This will be the first of its kind in Sekondi Takoradi..
President Akufu Addo in his address at the ground breaking ceremony held on Wednesday 19 August,2020 , stated that the commencement of the project is a manifestation of the promise made in 2016 by the President to the Chiefs and people of the Western Region to relocate the headquarters of the GNPC to the region and also make it an efficient centre for the oil industry in West Africa.
READ ALSO : [Photos]: Akufo-Addo commissions office complex for Western Regional House of Chiefs
The Board Chairman of GNPC- Hon.Freddy Blay in his speech, said further to the President’s pledge, the GNPC Board took a decision to set up the GNPC Foundation in Takoradi, to spearhead Corporate Social Investment initiatives. This was a deliberate strategy to ensure that even though the Foundation has a national scope, the socio-economic , educational, and training needs of the people of the Western received special focus.
On the GNPC contribution to the Nation as a whole,
National Support
Hon. Freddy Blay indicated that, since the the GNPC Foundation was established in 2017, it has provided infrastructure to the benefit of Ghanaians across the country. He said, “Today, we are happy to say that, since the establishment of the Foundation and through GNPC’s Corporate Social Investment initiatives, the Western Region has received its fair share of infrastructure in the provision of classroom blocks, science laboratories, astro turfs, sanitation blocks, tertiarys scholarshipsandprovision of potable water.
This, he said was GNPC’s contribution to bridging the developmental gaps in the Western Region and beyond.”.
Support to Western/Western North Region
Speaking on GNPC’s support to the Western region as envisioned by the President, Hon. Blay, who is former Member of Parliament for Ellembelle in the Western Region, mentioned that based on the leadership of the President, the Western Region has benefited immensely from the oil find
and the operations of GNPC. Key benefits include the provision of
potable water, road projects, educational and sanitary facilities.
Road Projects
In a bid to ensure that, oil revenues act as a catalyst to the growth of the economy, the GNPC Board has approved funding for bitumen surfacing of roads in the gas enclave area in the Western Region. These roads when completed, are expected to serve as crucial link for the evacuation of oil and gas products, and the transportation of critical personnel in the oil and gas value chain.
The Western Regional Minister, Hon. Kobby Okyere-Darko on his part commended President Akufo-Addo for fulfilling his promise of bringing the GNPC operational Head Office in Takoradi.
He indicated that, this has been an agenda by the ruling NPP government even when in position and recounted how the then NDC government continued to reject the motion.
Hon. Kobby Okyere-Darko however urged residents of Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis and the Western Region at large to vote massively for President Akufo-Addo in the forthcoming elections to be able to continue with the developmental works.
He also urged the contractor of the project to involve more youths in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis to be able to complete the work in the agreed two-year period.
Other dignitaries present at the ceremony includes Dr. Kwame Baah- Nuako, General Manager in charge of Sustainability at GNPC, the Executive Director of the GNPC Foundation, Dr Dominic Eduah and other invited guests.
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