The Board Chairman of Genser Energy, Nana Otwasuom Osae Nyampong VI, has revealed that illegal miners, locally known as galamseyers, have begun digging beneath the newly laid gas pipelines in the Ashanti Region.
He said this poses a great danger to the illegal miners and the whole project.
Nana Otwasuom Osae Nyampong VI said the digging could cause an explosion in the gas pipelines, putting the illegal miners at risk of death.
“Those on the right of way have begun prospecting for minerals along our gas pipelines; simply put, galamseyers have begun digging under our pipeline to see if they can strike its reach overnight. It is a very dangerous enterprise because when you are digging, you are using some force, and a little sparkle of fire may touch the gas, and you will lose your life with the explosion that will happen,” the board chairman cautioned.
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He, therefore, urged the chiefs in these areas to caution their subjects on the dangers of such actions.
“We will appeal to the Chiefs who own these lands on the right of way to educate their citizenry that there is no gainsaying that you are going to look for gold and you may not come back home. You shouldn’t exchange your life for wealth which you may not even get,” he said.
Genser Energy, a Ghanaian-owned independent power producer, constructed the 110-kilometre natural gas pipeline spanning from Prestea to Anwomaso.
This will power the 250-megawatt Kumasi 1 Thermal Power Plant (K1TPP) and future plants (500MW AKSA, 330MW CENIT), marking a significant advancement in the country’s power sector.
The first phase of the 150-megawatt Kumasi One Thermal Power Plant and the Genser Energy Kumasi Pipeline was commissioned by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Wednesday, April 17, 2024.
The project is part of efforts to provide sustainable electricity to meet the growing needs of Ashanti and its environs.