By Francis Eshun-Baidoo

THE United States Government yesterday expressed its commitment to ensuring the speedy completion of the West African Gas Pipeline Project. Speaking at the opening of the inaugural meeting and general workshop of the four participating countries in the project, Mrs. Kathryn Dee Robinson, US Ambassador to Ghana, said ?it is our determination to ensure that the project becomes a reality within the framework of assisting Africa to be fully integrated into the world economy?.

The workshop being organised by the ECOWAS Secretariat under the sponsorship of the USAID, is being facilitated by Nexant, a technology and consulting company. The West African Gas Pipeline Project is an initiative by Ghana, Nigeria, Benin and Togo to harmonise resources to cater for the energy needs in their respective countries.

Currently, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the US Government has provided a $1.5 million for the training and capacity building of the project implementation committee. The estimated cost of the 20 inch diameter and 600 kilometre long pipeline from Lagos Beach, Nigeria to Takoradi Thermal Power Complex in Ghana, is $440 million.

Under the project, which is expected to become operational by 2003, a public-private jointly owned entity, the West Africa Pipeline Company (WAPCO) is to be established and given the mandate by the sponsor governments to build, own and operate the natural gas transmission pipeline system.

The pipeline will be designed to convey up to 375 million standard cubic feet per day of natural gas while the gas delivery capacity of the pipeline will be 230 million standard cubic feet per day at Tema and up to 120 million standard cubic feet per day in Takoradi.

Mrs. Robinson said the successful completion of the West African Gas Pipeline project would make for the provision of reliable and reasonably priced energy and would give impetus for sustainable economic growth. ?Our support reflects our belief that the pipeline will go a long way to meeting the need for adequate, sustainable and reasonably priced energy in the co-operating countries. Just about everyone can benefit in some way from the availability of low-cost gas from the pipeline?, she said. The US Ambassador said among those with the potential to benefit most from the pipeline are heavy energy users in the industrial sector whose energy costs could be reduced by as much as 80 per cent, adding, ?cost savings of that magnitude could offer significant comparative advantage to West African manufacturers seeking to sell their products in overseas markets?. Dr. John Abu, Minister of Mines and Energy who opened the meeting, said the Project Implementation Committee has so far completed the two major tasks of the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the committee and the project developer and the inter-governmental agreement for the West Africa Gas Pipeline Project by the four sponsor governments. He said the key project milestone that is defined in the inter-governmental agreement is the preparation of an environmental impact assessment by the project developer for the review and approval of the sponsor governments. Dr. Abu who is also the Chairman of the Ministerial Steering Committee of the project, said in line with efforts to promote the regional trade based on the value-added products of gas-using enterprises, Ghana has already taken steps towards gas market development.

The USAID Country Director, Dr. Frank Young, said energy is the key to unlocking the potential of the sub-region and called on the stakeholders in the project to give the utmost attention to it. He said the USAID would continue to support the project through training and workshops to ensure that those tasked with the responsibility of making the project a reality are given the needed guidance.