Fast-growing Ghana has broken ground on the $12bn first phase of the planned $60bn Petroleum Hub, set to be Africa’s first integrated petrochemical complex, local media report.
Intended to capture more value from the oil Ghana started producing in 2010, which now makes up a fifth of Ghana’s exports, the hub will eventually have three refineries, five petrochemical plants, large storage tanks, and a new port.
It’s being built on an 8,000-hectare plot in the western coastal district of Jomoro in three phases.
The first refinery is expected to process 300,000 barrels of crude oil a day, and the chemical works 90,000 barrels.
The storage tanks will be able to hold 3 million cubic metres of oil and its derivatives.
Two more refineries will be built in later phases, giving a total processing capacity of 900,000 barrels a day.
The petrochemical plants will make fertilisers, lubricants and cosmetics.
The first phase is being built by the TCP-UIC Consortium, made up of UK investor Touchstone Capital, the Singapore-based investor Union International & Co, China Wuhan Engineering and China Construction Third Engineering Bureau.
Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said the project promised to be a “cornerstone of our nation’s development, ensuring that all Ghanaian homes and industries have access to reliable, affordable and environmentally sustainable energy”.
He said the hub was expected to create some 780,000 direct and indirect jobs, stabilise the national currency and stimulate local economic development.
Ghana is one of the world’s fastest growing economies, with GDP rising from $19bn in 2004 to $74bn today. GDP per capita is now more than $4,000, making it a middle-income country.
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