W/R: President Akufo-Addo cuts sod for $25million GNPC HQ

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has cut the sod for the construction of a $25-million Operational Headquarters of the national oil company, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) in the Western Regional capital of Sekondi-Takoradi.

The seven-storey office complex, which is expected to be completed within two years will be situated on a land area of 11,680m2.

The multi-faceted structure would have public spaces for a 300-seater auditorium, gymnasium, cafeteria and a business centre on the ground floor.

Oil Services hub

Speaking at the sod-cutting ceremony, President Akufo-Addo said, the construction of the facility is in fulfilment of a manifesto pledge made by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to the people of the Western Region, in the run-up to the December 2016 elections, a pledge reiterated by then President-Elect Akufo-Addo to the Western Regional House of Chiefs on December 27, 2016.

He said, “But for the protracted search for suitable space for the project and the effects of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), this project would have by now been at an advanced stage of completion".

Energy efficiency

The President said he is pleased with the structural design of the building which is in compliance with the government's policy of ensuring energy efficiency.

The building he said upon completion, will attain leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED) certification, which is an internationally recognized green building certification system, providing third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most.

“The LEED certification, which measures building standards to assess their compliance with ‘all-in-one’ address of energy efficiency, water conservation, site selection, material selection, day-lighting and waste reduction. Which will be the first of its kind in Sekondi-Takoradi," he said.

He urged the contractors, Messrs Sienna Services, to complete the project on schedule, within budget and use local labour.

For his part, the Board Chairman of GNPC, Mr Freddy Blay, said in a bid to ensure that, oil revenues act as a catalyst to the growth of the economy, “the GNPC Board has approved funding for bitumen surfacing of roads in the gas enclave area in the Western Region.”