Ernest Kofi Owusu-Bempah Bonsu
The Ghana Gas Company has denied media reports that its Chief Executive Officer is under pressure to sign a $812 million phase two contract of the company.
According to Ghana Gas, it has become aware of publications by some media outlets to the effect that the CEO of the gas processing company is under pressure to sign a purported dubious contract.
The company has therefore condemned the misleading publications regarding the award of the contract for the Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Commissioning (EPCC) and financing of Ghana Gas’ project, technically known as the Gas Processing Plant Train 2 (GPP 2 project).
Ghana Gas is embarking on the infrastructure expansion project to enable it process incremental gas flows from the Upstream Partners to meet the rising demand for gas for power generation and industrial use.
This was contained in a press release issued by Ghana Gas and signed by its Head of Corporate Communications, Ernest Kofi Owusu-Bempah Bonsu.
It said contrary to the claims that the entire process has been shrouded in opacity and corruption, the award of the contract for the GPP 2 project to the selected tenderer, went through a rigorous tender process.
“Following the approval by the Board of Directors of Ghana Gas in 2021 to commence the GPP 2 project, management applied and sought approval from the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) to adopt the Restricted Tender procurement method under Section 38(a) of Act 663 as amended for the EPCC and financing of the GPP2 project”, the release added.
It continued, “In accordance with the Restricted Tender Procurement method, tenders were submitted by four firms, and upon evaluation of their Technical and Financial bids, by the Entity Tender Committee, the selected tenderer was awarded the Contract following concurrent approval received from the Central Tender Review Committee (CTRC) of the Ministry of Finance”.
It said accordingly, Ghana Gas and the selected tenderer signed a Project Implementation Agreement to outline the terms and conditions for the EPCC and financing of the project.
“The selected tenderer has incorporated a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to undertake the project and Ghana Gas is currently in negotiations with the SPV to execute the relevant agreements for the implementation of the project”.
“We wish to place on record that there is no external influence being exerted on the CEO to execute the agreements as is being alleged in the media and we urge Ghanaians to disregard any such mischievous publication,” the release said.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi