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Eni, Vitol Upstream Ghana Ltd, and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), partners in the Offshore Cape-Three-Points petroleum project, have handed over three completed astroturf pitches to three communities in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region.
The three pitches, along with other associated projects, cost the OCTP partners about $3.4 million. They were given to the Atuabo, Eikwe, and Sanzule/Krisan communities, amidst a football match among schoolchildren, community members, and staff of Eni Ghana.
Speaking at the commissioning of the astroturf projects and the distribution of assorted books to students and schools at Sanzule, Baluri Kassim Bukari, Sustainability, Local Content and External Relations Manager at Eni, said the project is in direct fulfillment of what the community wanted from the outset of their operations.
“These three pitches are meant to support physical education, which is an integral part of education. You cannot have a holistic education without physical education. Eni and its partners have invested a lot in education in these communities because we know that education is the key to development and improvement of people’s welfare. When we arrived in this community in search of land, one of the key concerns of the negotiators, the Chiefs and the MP who was then the Minister for Energy, were very insistent on making sure that the people here benefit from our work. At the time, they were very clear in their minds that education was a key to the success of the people, and we are committed to doing that,” he explained.
Baluri Kassim Bukari added that the projects are part of the partners’ School Infrastructural Project in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region, which is meant to ensure the total development of the people.
“The astroturf pitches were constructed with a focus on social inclusion, fostering positive self-awareness for better health, and nurturing athletic growth to cultivate a fitness-focused and flourishing community,” he noted.
He further said that the three astroturfs are part of the $3.4 million infrastructural project, which also included the construction of eight new classroom blocks, eight combined staffroom, headmaster and library blocks, six canteen blocks, ten toilet facilities, and ten volleyball courts, as well as the refurbishment of eleven school blocks on eleven compounds.
Also speaking at the handing over ceremony, former Minister for Energy Emmanuel Armarh-Kofi Buah commended Eni and its Offshore Cape-Three-Points partners for their investment in sports and educational infrastructure development in their host communities in the Ellembelle District.
“ENI had come to this area, and we had insisted that after 25 to 30 years when the oil and gas is gone, the legacy we would want them to leave is our human resource. Thus, to educate very vibrant communities so that we can continue on from there, I believe that this foundation in education in school infrastructure and today’s sports facilities is exactly in the right direction. And I believe ENI and partners deserve a lot of commendation for keeping their word,” he said.
The District Chief Executive of Ellembelle, Kwasi Bonzoh, and traditional authorities who graced the occasion all praised Eni for their investment in the communities.
Eni is a globally integrated energy company operating in 69 countries. It has been in Ghana since 2009 and is currently the lead operator of the Offshore Cape-Three-Points Project, with Vitol Upstream and GNPC as its partners.
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