18 December 2007
World Bank's Inspection Panel expected to submit findings of its investigation into claims made by local communities that the project violated the Bank's environmental and social policies.
Reuters reports that the long-awaited West Africa Gas Pipeline (WAGP) will begin operations by December 23 this year. The 680-kilometer pipeline, estimated to cost $620 million, will transport natural gas from Nigeria’s volatile Niger Delta to Ghana, largely to power that country’s burgeoning industrial sector.
In 2004, the World Bank and its private sector insurance arm, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), together provided risk insurance totaling $125 million for WAGP, which is financed by a consortium of private companies led by Chevron.
According to the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, the project experienced a setback this year after a ship caused $25 million worth of damage to an offshore segment of the pipeline near Cotonou, Benin. Completion of the pipeline had earlier been delayed by instability in the Niger Delta region where the gas is to be extracted, a scenario predicted by local groups even while the project was under preparation.
Meanwhile, the World Bank Inspection Panel, the Bank’s internal, independent accountability mechanism, is expected to submit the results of its investigation into claims made by local communities in Nigeria that the project has violated Bank policies with respect to its social and environmental impacts and safety concerns. The claims also targeted the alleged inadequacy of compensation paid to owners of land used by the project, insufficient pipeline safety measures, lack of information about environmental impacts, and the project’s failure to make a meaningful contribution to a reduction in gas flaring.
The flaring of gas waste from oil production facilities in the Niger Delta has long frustrated communities, who complain of a 24-hour-a-day assault of light, noise, fumes, and destruction. WAGP drew initial support from some communities and civil society groups because of its promise to address the flaring, making its shortfalls in this regard especially troubling.
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