Tension is mounting in Ashaiman New Town between some residents in the township and a businessman over the siting of a proposed fuel service station.

According to some members of the community, the project which is located opposite a Church of Pentecost Mission House and a Seventh Day Adventist Church was also closer to a bakery and an Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) transformer and poses a threat to public safety.

This has culminated in a decision by the regulator, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to put the project on hold until an amicable solution was found.

Speaking to The Spectator on Wednesday, the residents expressed varied opinions on why the project must not be sited in the area as it poses significant threat to life and property.

Ms Leticia Gbeve, who spoke on their behalf said the residents were not consulted to know whether they were in agreement or not before permit was issued to the owner of the property.

She said the facility was too close to their residences and that was their major worry because they fear in the event of an accident, the consequences would be disastrous.

Ms Gbeve said the residents were not against any developmental project in the area but would prefer something that would not threaten lives and properties, adding that “we want for instance a mall, hotel, hospital or apartments.”

She said, it was important that the relevant institutions, especially the EPA made time to address their concerns thoroughly for an amicable resolution that would guarantee their safety and protect the environment.

Responding, the businessman, Mr David Azupio disclosed that the relevant institutions had inspected the landing and carried out various assessment on his invitation before permit was granted for the project to be constructed.

He said the institutions were still closely monitoring all activities at the project site to ensure he was complying with the directives.

According to him, the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), the EPA, the Ashaiman Traditional Council (ATC), and others with oversight responsibility over the construction of such a facility had done their part so far to ensure compliance with standards.

Mr Azupio assured that he would ensure that all safety standards were adhered to, in order to safeguard the security of the residents and his staff.

“We have been advised to consider safety measures to mitigate any kind of unforeseen issues. They instructed us to among other things raise the walls of the project higher as well as go every length to ensure that the community continued to be a safe place to live,” he said.

Meanwhile, a stakeholder meeting has been held by the EPA following a petition received from the residents to the Agency.

It was to provide the owner of the fuel service station and the citizens an opportunity to engage and also for the former to present the details of the project, its environmental impact and safety measures to be implemented to the community and also for a discussion on the facility under construction.

From Dzifa Tetteh Tay, Ashaiman