(From Benjamin Mensah, GNA Correspondent in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)

Addis Ababa, Feb. 1, GNA - The year 2011, declared by Government as Action Year, would see a massive infrastructure development and job creation, President John Evans Atta Mills announced on Monday. Road construction work on the Eastern Corridor and the development of infrastructure associated with the oil and gas industry in the Western Region would be given a boost, he stated.

President Mills announced these in a chat with journalists in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, where he attended the 16th Ordinary Session of the African Union.

Explaining the programmes lined up in the Action Year, President Mills said there would be a combination of investment and job creation, as well a= s human resource development as work would begin on two new state universitie= s in the Brong Ahafo and Volta Regions.

President Mills had delivered the keynote address on shared values for greater integration and cooperation and called on the leaders not to waste further time to eradicate bottlenecks that slowed down the development of the Continent. He said part of Government's programme for the Action Year would be t= he development of the energy sector.

President Mills, however, pointed out that Ghana would not become an instant first class rich nation with her commencement of pumping oil in commercial quantities.

He said the modest beginnings would scale up as the years went by, and assured the nation of his pledge to ensure that the oil find would remain a blessing rather than become a curse. He said there would be transparency in the use and disbursement of the oil proceeds.

Asked what his impressions were on the frequent power outages in some parts of the country in recent times, President Mills admitted that despite a directive of zero power cuts in the last yuletide, some areas experienced outages and attributed the situation to pressure on the Company's operational equipment.

President Mills expressed worry about the incidence, and said he wished that the ECG had alerted the public before going ahead with those power cuts. He also announced the construction of landing bays in some parts of the country.

On the presence of former President Jerry Rawlings at the Summit, President Mills said it was good to see the former President appointed the AU High Representative to Somalia, as Africa stood to gain a lot from his experience. President Mills stressed African integration for the Continent's development. President Mills is expected back home on Tuesday.