Parliament has granted the passage of the Petroleum Hub Development Corporation Bill, 2020, towards the advancement of a petroleum and petrochemicals sector.

This is according to a report of the Select Committee on Mines and Energy in Parliament.

The bill, when assented to by the President, will witness the establishment of infrastructure such as refineries, port terminal facilities, storage facilities, as well as petrochemical and Liquefied Natural Gas terminal in the Western Region.

Subsequently, a network of pipelines will supply petroleum and petrochemical products for both domestic and sub-regional markets in the region.

Also, the establishment of Petroleum and Petrochemical Hub is projected to contribute immensely to the economic development of Ghana through value addition and job creation.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament last week, Chairman of the Mines and Energy Committee of Parliament, Emmanuel Akwasi Gyamfi, clarified how government intends to fund the project.

“The Committee was informed that the estimated total cost of the Hub is US$60 billion. Out of this amount, the Government of Ghana is expected to contribute US$6 billion representing 10 percent of the total investment cost. The government intends to leverage on private capital to finance the remaining 90 percent of funding requirements,” Akwasi Gyamfi said.

Meanwhile, Ghana is estimated to earn about US$1.56 billion in export tax, 130% increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) through injection of US$60 billion into the country’s economy by the year 2030 while the project is expected to provide the country Liquified Natural Gas facilities for power production and drive the growth of various industries including petrochemicals.

As a result of this, some 780,000 jobs are expected to be created in Ghana both directly and indirectly.