The Vice-President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, has predicted a bright future for the energy sector in the country, expressing the optimism that there will be more gas for the production of energy by 2013. He said Ghana had comparative advantage in producing gas to meet both domestic and commercial demands and called for more investment in the energy sector. The Vice-President expressed this optimism when he received a delegation from the Shenzhen Energy Group and the Municipal Government Executive from China, led by the Agbogbomefia of the Asogli State and Director of the Sunon Asogli Power Ghana Limited, Togbe Afede XIV, at the Castle, Osu, in Accra Wednesday. Mr Mahama said work was expected to commence on the construction of the country's first gas infrastructure, including a gas processing plant, at Doryumi in the Western Region early next year. That, he said, followed the signing of a project implementation agreement between the Ghana National Gas Company (Ghana Gas) and Sinopec International Petroleum Services Corporation, a Chinese firm, for the development of the early phase of the gas infrastructure in the Western Region. With that project coming on stream, he said, Ghana should have a functioning gas processing plant and infrastructure linking the FPSO Kwame Nkrumah to the processing plant at Aboadze and Prestea through Esiama by December 2012. Mr Mahama said Ghana currently had a power deficit and expressed the hope that with power from the Bui project and additional power from the Asogli project, the country would meet its target of increasing power to 5,000 megawatts by 2015. Additionally, he said, the Renewable Energy Act passed by Parliament would also serve as an added impetus to enhancing the power situation in the country. He said the country was further directing its attention at wind and solar energy as an alternative source of power, stressing that “Ghana has great advantage in solar energy.” The Vice-President said the government was also delighted to collaborate with the company in other sectors, particularly the public transport sector, an alternative public transport system and sanitation and waste disposal. He expressed appreciation to the company for the confidence exhibited in investing in the country, saying, “I am happy your investment has proved fruitful.” Mr Mahama said the government had an assurance from its Nigerian counterpart to increase gas through the West African Gas Pipeline, so that the installed capacity could be used in the second phase of the power project. Togbe Afede, for his part, said the company had invested $200 million in the first phase of the Asogli Power Plant and had plans to invest $300 million which would produce 360 megawatts. He expressed appreciation to the government for the support given to the company and asked for further support as it invested in other areas of the economy. “The Chinese have tested our investment potential and are convinced that Ghana's environment is ripe to invest in,” he stressed.