Mr Charles Owusu, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Petroleum Hub Development Corporation (PHDC), has led a delegation to engage potential investors at the Dubai Expo 2022.
A statement issued by the Corporation said the move, formed part of efforts at wooing investors to put their money in the country.
Mr Owusu spoke to them about the corporation’s goal to facilitate and manage the building and running of a US$60 billion petroleum hub in Jomoro, in the Western Region.
He presented a market analysis of petroleum product consumption in the West-African Sub-Region and said in 2021, the entire sub-region consumed petroleum products to a tune of 43 million tones.
Nigeria was the largest consumer and coming next was Ghana.
This, he said, meant that there was a huge potential that investors could take advantage of to tap into the demand for petroleum products on the continent.
Mr Owusu highlighted Ghana’s enviable geographical location, stable democracy, comparatively well-developed infrastructure, Free Zones and stable institutions to make a strong case for why the country should be a preferred destination for investments.
He said investors in the hub would enjoy a stable political environment, easy access to vibrant shipping routes and markets, availability of 20,000-acre land with few environmentally sensitive areas and access to deep water which provides the capacity to accommodate Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) and Ultra Large Crude Carriers (ULCCs).
“With all the ease of doing business, PHDC also promises incentives such as 100 per cent tax exemption on duties and levies, exemption on corporate income tax for 10 years and thereafter will not exceed 15 per cent.”
He added that there was also a total exception from payment of withholding taxes from dividends arising from the Petroleum Hub and with no restrictions on repatriation of funds.
For Ghana, the hub when developed would give a direct economic boost of US$1.56billion, 780,000 jobs and a 70 per cent increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
