BUDGET: Govt committed to the fortunes of VALCO

Accra, Nov.10, GNA - The Government is committed to the fortunes of the new Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO) at Tema.

Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning who announced this on Thursday said the investment was expected to change Ghana's economic fortunes by increasing GDP by about 2-3 per cent per annum It would also create employment for 6,000 people, and generate about one billion dollars in revenue every year.

Presenting the 2006 Budget Statement to Parliament, Mr Baah-Wiredu said, in an effort to reduce its dependence on the Akosombo Hydro Power, VALCO would invest about one billion dollars to set up a 1,000 megawatts thermal plant at Tema.

The plant, he said, would make use of gas from the West African Gas Project.

Mr Baah-Wiredu said construction of the West African Gas Pipeline which begun this year would be completed by the end of next year. He said considerable progress had been made on the deregulation of the petroleum sector with the passage of the National Petroleum Act, 2005 (ACT 691).

The NPA has also been established, which has started a programme of regular quarterly reviews to ensure that the country continued to have reliable supplies of petroleum products at the appropriate costs.