Hajia Mamuna Gariba speaking with a journalist
Some worried residents of Ashaiman have raised serious fears about plan by the Bulk Oil Storage Transport (BOST) to lay onshore pipeline of natural gas transmission utility from Aboadze power enclave in the Western Region to connect the West African Gas Pipeline in Tema.
According to them, the possibility of people tampering with the underground pipelines to steal the aluminium pipes is high and it could lead to serious disaster in the municipality since gas is flammable.
They disclosed that placing the pipelines through a densely-populated human settlement like Ashaiman is a great concern to them, as government should reconsider fixing it through non-habitable areas such as bushes instead of the township.
Some residents have also raised concerns about issue of compensation when affected with the resting of the pipelines through their properties.
This was made known during a town hall meeting organised by the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly (ASHMA) under the theme: ‘The Changing Face of Ashaiman, The Role of Stakeholders’ held in Ashaiman.
Hajia Mamuna Gariba, the Zongo queen mother for Ashaiman, at the meeting revealed her fears, saying, “What happened at the Nkrumah Circle at the filling station is a great lesson to some of us who have seen natural gas disasters in countries like Nigeria. They want to kill us. I do not eat food cook with the use of gas because I do not want to die. They should use the vast government lands in the forest to transmit the gas.”
But, Akuah Oforiwa Boateng, General Manager for Access and Infrastructure for BOST who announced the project during the meeting, allayed the fear of the residents, reiterating that “there is no cause for concern but the fear is natural and that is why we are engaging the communities because the more we communicate with you, the more we will explain to you what is it we are trying to do and demonstrate to you that this is what is well thought through.”
She added that the pipe will be about 1.5 metre in depth, highlighting that BOST will be engaging community watchdogs to monitor the situation in case anyone attempts digging to locate the pipeline, thereby, “there is no need for concern and fear.”
Ms Boateng advised the residents to bring out any “challenge in the area where the pipeline is going to pass for redress since BOST is currently engaging the communities to explain the details of the project, as issues of such nature is very significant.”
The general manager for Access and Infrastructure for BOST pointed out that “BOST will ensure that we compensate anybody who is affected and there is an entire process which the Land Commission and Attorney General is working on for the process of compulsory acquisition and we will compensate everyone who will be affected, even squatters.”
The construction work of the 150-kilometre reverse flow pipeline from the Aboadze power enclave is expected to facilitate the transmission of dense gas to power thermal plants in Tema, and the project is said to be over 50 percent completed.
The project which will tie in to the transmission lines of the West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAPCo) when completed will transmit about 60 million standard cubic feet (scf) of gas per stream day to the Asogli, the Kpone and the Cenit Power plants which run on gas.
The reverse flow project which is being put up as a simple reverse facility and does not require a compressor became necessary due to the Volta River Authority’s (VRA’s) inability to receive the 120 million scf of gas that Ghana Gas supplies on a daily basis.
BOST which is said to have been granted the mandate by the Energy Commission to execute onshore pipeline believes that there is a critical need to develop Ghana’s natural gas transmission infrastructure to connect demand with supply sources imbalances between the west and east of Ghana.
BOST as the NGTU license holder is responsible for the building and operations of Ghana’s transmission network with 900 km of new gas pipelines in the country.
From Vincent Kubi, Ashaiman