The Minister of water resources and Energy, Eloundou Essomba Gaston, has revealed that the price surges the population of the North West region suffers on the cost of domestic gas will soon be a thing of the past.
Representing the Prime Minister and Head of Government, Minister Eloundou made this declaration in Bamenda on Saturday November 5, 2022, while laying the foundation stone for the Construction of an ultramodern LPG filling centre at the Bangshie neigbourhood in
Bamendakwe.
The minister intimated that:
"As far as the consumption of domestic gas is concerned, Bamenda already has a huge market but often suffers from exhurbitant prices. More so, the coming of the plant has the advantage of creating employment for sons and daughters of the Region, and reducing the risks of
handling gas cylinders from Bafoussam to Bamenda which is 80km away.
"Beyond the comfort the plant brings to the general public by minimising the risks of gas shortage, the presence of this filling centre in Bamenda, will contribute to the consolidation of efforts such as advocated by the Head of State, His Excellency Paul BIYA with the view to revitalise our economy".
And the high dependency on gas will reduce the usage of coal and wood, create jobs and revitalise the local economy," Minister Eloundou added.
In his own declaration, the General Manager of
the Hydrocarbons Prices Stabilisation Fund (CSPH), Okie Johnson Ndoh, stated that the gas plant is the 3rd in the Nation, after that of Maroua (2005) and Bertoua in 2015 and is the most modern in the country as at now. Okie added that:
"The Hydrocarbons Prices Stabilisation (HPSF) has opted for the construction 8of these LPG filling centres in regional headquarters, then eventually extend sub centres in the Divisional headquarters. This deployment of filling centres is in line with the Government's policy to combat deforestation and improve the quality of life of the population.
On his part, the President of the North
West Regional Assembly President, Prof Fru Angwafor III, stated that dependence on domestic gas will go a long way to fight deforestation and protect the ozone layer.
The gas plant will also help reduce the use of coal and wood, hence reducing the dangers of some respiratory diseases. He added.
Prof Angwafo also used the opportunity to request for the devolution of the competent powers to the regions to drive local development and enhance the Decentralization process of local governance.
In his welcome address, Bamenda City Mayor, Paul Achombang, pronounced that with the coming of the gas plant, there is already a ready market of about 2.5 million people scattered all over the region to consume. He equally added that the facility will eliminate middlemen and put an end to the black market syndrome that brings about the price hikes of cooking gas.
The city mayor added that, "the North West Region loses close to
2,000FCFA for every 12 L cylinder gas bottle sold. Which means as the price of gas rises, the region loses about 2.8 billion FCFA in a year.
The 24 months project costs 5.6 billion
FCFA that will be constructed on a
land area of 6 hectares will have a total storage capacity of 200 MT, and will comprise:
Four LPG Tanks with a capacity of 50 Metric Tons each, a carousel of twelve stations, a fire water tank, a gas filling hall, a generator, product and fire pumping station, two nitrogen and air compressors, an engineering building, a maintenance building, a clinic, cafeteria, playground, two security buildings, Control equipment and two weighbridges etc.
It should be noted that, an LPG filling centre is a technical facility for storing and filling gas. This is where gas cylinders are filled and later returned after consumption. From there, the distribution of gas is ensured by marketers who work in gas distribution and storage in Cameroon, namely: SCTM, AFRIGAZ, BOCOM, Green Oil, Stan Gaz etc". "The Bamenda Gas Plant consists of four gas tanks with a capacity of 50 metric tons each; one fire water tank, one gas filling hall, one generator, one product and fire. He added.
By VictoryMarshal Ayafor Basang