We’re saving $3m monthly employing local engineers at Atuabo – Ghana Gas MD

The Managing Director of the Ghana Gas Company Limited, Dr Ben Asante, has revealed that as part of the company’s move to indigenise its operations, it has replaced Chinese expatriates running its Atuabo plant with local engineers, a move that saves the company some $3 million in operation costs every month.

He made the revelation when he took his turn at the State of the Agencies Report, a regular press engagement platform created by the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Information yesterday.

“Ghana Gas after incorporation in July of 2011, we went through a period of construction of infra­structure. At the end of November 2014, we had finished with what we call mechanical completion. Then we went through a period of commissioning which took about a period of six months. So, by the end of April 2015, our plant was fully commissioned and the pipe­lines attendant to plant also was. All this time, the plant was being operated by the Chinese.

“We like to work with the Chinese, but we didn’t want to stay with them for too long. Indigenous Ghanaian engineers and techni­cians took over the operations of this plant. I have worked in this industry for 31 years and this is the first time I’ve seen such a turn­around, having foreign operators cede operatorship to indigenous engineers and technicians in the shortest time which is three years. Whiles we are at it, we save $3 million a month because that is how much we pay the Chinese a month,” he said.

In addition to the company’s indigenisation drive, Dr Asante said his outfit had over the years contributed to developing a highly trained and motivated world class workforce full of local engineers and technicians capable of sus­taining the petrochemical industry to play a pivotal role in accelerat­ing the development of Ghana’s economy.

He assured that with the much-needed transformation, Ghana Gas was poised to estab­lish itself as a reliable supplier of lean gas, condensate and Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) by putting in place the best technology and technical management methods to ensure availability of its resources to the service of the Ghanaian industry.

BY TIMES REPORTER