The President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo today cut the sod for the construction of the $25million Operational Head Office of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) in Takoradi.

He was supported by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of GNPC – Hon. Freddy Blay, the Western Regional Minister, and the President of the Western Regional House of Chiefs.

In his speech, Hon. Freddy Blay, said, the decision to relocate GNPC’s operational Head Office to Takoradi was as a result of a manifesto pledge made by the President in 2016 and his vision to restore and enhance GNPC’s presence in the Western Region.

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 region received special focus.

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, tertiary scholarships andprovision 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.

GNPC Operational Head Office

The sod cutting and subsequent construction of the operational Head Office according to Hon. Freddie Blay, is a manifestation of the promise made in 2016 by The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo to the Chiefs and People of the Western Region. The Board Chairman explained that the project experienced delays because of Covid-19 and the one and half years it took to secure the land.

He thanked the Western Regional Minister, Hon. Kwabena Okyere Darko and the Lands Commission for their tremendous assistance in securing the land for the project. The Former Member of Parliament for Ellembelle Constituency assured the President that, once the project is completed, GNPC staff will move in and begin work.

The President on his part indicated that the seven-storey GNPC operational Head office complex will be situated on a land area of 11680m2 and completed within two years at a cost of approximately US$25million.

Commenting on the structural design of the building, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo revealed that the building complex comprises public spaces for a 300-seater auditorium, gymnasium, cafeteria and a business centre on the ground floor. The upper floors will accommodate private office spaces for GNPC and for lease to prospective tenants.

In compliance with 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.

The President also took the opportunity to commission an ultra-modern office complex and hostel facilities for the Western Regional House of Chiefs, constructed and furnished by the GNPC Foundation in Sekondi. He also inspected and also cut the sod for the construction of some key gas enclave roads being constructed by the Department of Feeder Roads and the Ministry of Roads and Highways all funded by GNPC.