Government is under pressure to fully disclose the exact amount spent in building the Atuabo Gas Processing Plant following revelations in parliament that the petroleum ministry may have understated the total cost.

The sector minister, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, answering a question in parliament Wednesday, announced that the project cost Ghana $1 billion.

But that figure is being challenged by the Member of Parliament for Yagaba/Kubori, Mustapha Ussif who also provided documentary evidence that government spent more than 1.5 billion dollars to complete the gas infrastructure project.

Member of Parliament for Yagaba Kubori, Mustapha Ussif

 

He is now asking government to account for the $500 million difference.

The MP said he sighted a document presented by Ghana Gas to the Public Utilities and Regulatory Commission (PURC) showing the cost of the project was $1.5 billion.

The Minority believes the cost of the project is bloated.

Atuabo Gas Processing plant

The inconsistencies in the figures have left the minister requesting for more time to reconcile the differences.

A US$ 1 billion facility (part of US$3 Billion) was secured from the Chinese Development Bank (CDB) through the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MoFEP) for the implementation of the Atuabo Gas Processing project.

The government of Ghana was required to raise 15% as counterpart funding whilst the CDB funds the remaining 85%.

The importance of knowing the exact cost of the Atuabo Gas processing plant is found in the fact that the cost of construction determines the cost at which gas is sold to the Volta River Authority (VRA) to generate power.

In all this, the PURC engages Ghana Gas to determine the tariffs for gas.

If the cost is inflated, it will mean VRA will charge higher tariff on power for consumers.

“Either Ghana Gas or the minister is hiding something from Ghanaians,” the Yagaba/Kubori MP maintained.

The Atuabo Gas Processing Plant is Ghana’s promise to cheaper fuel for power generation.

It is expected to save the nation over $500million a year from importing light crude to power the thermal plants, as gas costs barely half the price of light crude oil.

Atuabo Gas Processing plant can generate about 140 million standard cubic feet of natural gas a day.