The Director General of the West African Gas Pipeline Authority (WAGPA), Chafari Kanya Hanawa, on Friday February 28, 2025, paid a working visit to WAPCo’s Tema R&M Station. She was accompanied by a five-member team and met with key media.

The purpose of the visit according to WAGPA was to inspect ongoing maintenance works, engage WAGP stakeholders through the media on the on-going maintenance exercise and share how WAGPA is working with all Stakeholders to ensure successful outcome of the project.

Other reasons for the media engagement WAGPA said was raise public awareness about the WAGP as a strategic shared infrastructure for the four countries that is contributing significantly to the energy security of the region, raise awareness about the WAGP Authority itself as WAPCo’s regulator and to highlight the potential of the WAGP to be extended to other countries in the region.

According to WAGPA, Ghana, Benin and Togo have made significant savings since WAGP started operations. Based on volumes of gas transported through the WAGP from the east to Ghana between 2012 to 2023, the country saved over one billion United States Dollars on fuel for power generation. During the same period, Togo saved over 114 million US Dollars, while Benin saved over 123 million US dollars.

WAGPA in its presentation to the media stated that its three core functions were representation, regulation and facilitation. On its representation function, WAGPA said it represents the four WAGP State Parties in respect of key matters related to WAGP development and implementation. In respect of regulation, WAGPA stated that the Authority was set up to development and eventual decommissioning as well as the business of the pipeline. On facilitation WAGPA is to facilitate the development and the operation of the pipeline system.

WAGPA which is based in Abuja, Nigeria works with the ministries in charge of energy/natural gas in the four countries to ensure the success of the project, the tax authorities to ensure WAPCo pays the taxes due each state and other stakeholders including Parliament and the media to ensure the success of the project, WAGPA stated.

The WAGPA DG told the media that WAPCo’s maintenance, which involved pigging and cleaning of the pipeline, was completed five days ahead of the initial March 2, 2025, deadline set by WAPCo. According to Hanawa, the exercise aimed to clear the pipeline of debris in accordance with regulatory and industry standards; inspect for corrosion, damage, or defects; enhance the system’s reliability and performance; and also replace subsea valves in Tema and Cotonou.

Hanawa commended WAPCo for completing the maintenance ahead of schedule. “To our surprise, WAPCo was able to finish the pigging even before the stipulated period. They wrote to us and informed us that the eastern section was completed, while operations on the western section were set to resume today, Thursday. Our visit is to assess the work done and communicate with the public. We understand that shutting down the pipeline, even for a short period, affects gas supply and has an impact on the population. However, such maintenance is crucial for the pipeline’s optimal operation,” she stated.