Exclusivity clause in Atuabo Free Port project necessary - says developers
The developers of the Atuabo Free Port project have stated that they cannot do away with the exclusivity clause in the commercial agreement.
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The clause, they said, was to ensure the project stood the test of time.
"The exclusivity clause that grants a sole and absolute right for the development of a dedicated oil and gas service infrastructure in the Western Region, is to ensure that financiers of the project recoup their investment," a Director of the project, Mr Steven Gray, told the media over the weekend.
"The clause in its present form has been reviewed to a 10-year period, from the commercial operation and, is a requirement from the financiers," Mr Gray disclosed.
According to him, the clause provided no restrictions on the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) to expand the Takoradi Port to handle the growing demand in maritime traffic, contrary to other suggestions.
He stressed that the government had the ability to develop additional facilities, when the Atuabo Free Port was not able to expand to meet industry demands.
"The Tema and Takoradi ports have limitations, hence, the need for a dedicated port for oil and gas," Mr Gray stressed.
The Government of Ghana (GoG), he noted, had the ability to develop additional facilities if the Atuabo Free Port was not expanded to meet the industry demand.
Erroneous Impressions
Organised labour had raised concerns about the nature of the agreement, describing the project as one that could not stand the test of time.
According to the Secretary General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Mr Kofi Asamoah, the project had too many concessionary terms to be viable.
The terms, he pointed out, were not in the short and long-term interest of the country.
But the lawyer for the developers, Lonhro, Mr Devine Letsa, has described the concerns as misleading.
According to him, people were just creating erroneous impressions on the viability of the project.
He further described as false organised labour's position that the commercial agreement was couched in a manner that might see the developers receiving judgement debt, in the event of the project not taking off.
Mr Letsa also queried how an agreement under the Free Zones Act, could be said to be sidestepping the country's constitution.
"Those are only misrepresentations being bundled around to deny the company the opportunity to provide some 5,000 direct jobs to people within the region", Mr Letsa stated.
Local Content
The External Relations Manager at Lonrho, Ms Philomena Kuzoe, announced that the project would take off by the end of the first quarter of 2015. She also explained that the developers had incorporated local content into the execution of the project.
That, she said, was to ensure the participation of Ghanaian institutions for consistency with the government's policy and the Local Content and Local Participation Regulations approved by Parliament.
"This agreement arguably exceeds the provisions of the regulations in respect of local participation and hence the delivery of viable joint-venture project that benefits not only external investors, but also Ghanaian investors,” she said.
"Clearly, Ghana has an attractive investment climate and we do not believe it falls within this category. It is important to point out that this project will act as a catalyst to create a centre of excellence for the oil and gas industry in the Gulf of Guinea and result in a net inflow of capital to Ghana through additional investment into this sector," she pointed out.
Ms Kuzoe also hinted that Lonhro was putting in place mitigation measures to control any negative impact the project might have on the residents of Atuabo.
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