The Takoradi Polytechnic, located at Ghana’s oil-rich Western Region, will begin the construction of a $10 million School of Petroleum Studies in 2013, according to reports.

The Rector of the Polytechnic, Rev Prof Daniel Nyarko, made the disclosure at the 12th Congregation of the school, which held in Takoradi, adding that authorities have acquired over 150-acre plots of land to start the $10 million project which would be funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB).

The Ghana News Agency reports that the project would involve the construction of 15 approved structures including lecture theatres, laboratories, recreational and workshop facilities.

The Polytechnic has also signed two memoranda of understanding with two investors for the provision of modern staff and student accommodation and a medical facility at the expected campus.

The establishment of the energy learning institution will help the West African state properly position its people for the management of its petroleum resources.

Although commercial quantities of offshore oil reserves in Ghana were discovered in the 1970s, the country did not start significant commercial oil production until December 2010 and the commodity has largely accelerated the growth of the economy.

Ghana recorded 14.5 percent economic growth in 2011, mostly fueled by its new status as an oil producer.