Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana National Gas Company, Dr. Ben Asante has called on investors to help rejuvenate the Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company (GCMC).
Speaking at a press briefing on Sunday, November 17, 2024 Dr. Asante outlined plans to transform the GCMC into a state-of-the-art manufacturing hub capable of meeting local demand for gas cylinders, accessories, and cook stoves, while eyeing opportunities to export these products across West Africa.
He said “By installing modern, high-tech facilities at the GCMC, we can not only meet the growing demand for cylinders and cooking equipment in Ghana but also position the country as a leading exporter of these products across the West African region”
The move follows a significant development earlier this year when the President approved Ghana Gas’ acquisition of GCMC.
This strategic decision aims to bolster the country’s gas infrastructure, stimulate local production, and invigorate the economy.
Dr. Asante sees this as a golden opportunity to enhance domestic manufacturing capacity and create jobs.
He also announced that the company has saved a remarkable $250 million USD by relying on local engineers to operate gas plants rather than importing foreign expertise.
This initiative, he said, has not only cut costs but also created jobs and empowered local professionals.
ICYMT: Increased gold prices between 2024 and 2025 will benefit Ghana – Fitch predicts
He mentioned that the decision for Ghana to take over the operations of its natural gas infrastructure was to alleviate the challenge of its operationalization by the Chinese company to create avenue for young Ghanaian engineers to operate the processing plant resulting in accrued savings of three million dollars per month.
“…We were saving about three million dollars every month because we were paying the Chinese quite a bit of money…because we are paying our people anyways, so we have about 250 million US dollars saved to date and certainly also create about a thousand permanent and contract employment.
The CEO emphasized that since the take over of the company by young Ghanaian engineers, there have been three major successful shutdowns of the gas plant handled solely by the Ghanaian engineers for maintenance purposes with “no loss time to injury” recorded in the process.
This underscores the team’s competence and success since the takeover from the Chinese.
Source: Anthony Sasu Ayisadu/ATLFMNEWS
