BOST seeks $150m to revamp operations – MD
The Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST) is seeking a capital injection of $150 million to revamp its operations.
About $75 million of the funds would be used to upgrade and rehabilitate the company’s infrastructure and the other half would be deployed as working capital.
Mr Edwin Nii Obadai Provencal, the Managing Director of BOST, told the Ghana News Agency that the new funding would help the company to become economically viable and begin paying dividend to government within the next two to three years.
The interview was during during a workshop for members of the Institute of Financial and Economic Journalists over the weekend.
Mr Provencal explained the needed funds could come from an increase in the BOST Margin in the petroleum product Price Build-up, Government support; or funding from Investors.
He noted that should the option of BOST margin be implemented, it would result in the immediate increase in the prices of fuel but would in the medium-to-long term, be of great benefit to consumers as BOST’s effectiveness would reduce the price at the pumps.
Mr Provencal said the capital injection would enable the company to move from its current state of a loss making and low capitalisation entity to a profit making and dividend paying company.
Mr Provencal said the capital injection would also help the management to desist from underutilising the company’s assets and use resources fully to operationalise the dormant barges of the company, which transport oil from Akosombo to Buipe and other resources lying idle.
He said the new strategy is focused on improving the operational efficiency of the company by moving from the use of outdated manual systems to a full automation system.
He said the plans of the company to improve on its core mandate could only be limited by the non-availability of the funds to support the ideas, as the staff within company had thrown their weight behind new strategies.
“If the regulator does not regulate well and allows cross zonalisation, then, our dreams may be delayed,” he said, adding that, the vision to transform BOST would not be materialised if we don’t do effective stakeholder management.
Mr Provencal said the vision would not come into fruition if there was poor stakeholder management with transporters, tanker drivers’ unions, the regulator, the government, employees of BOST and many other stakeholders.
Source: GNA