Govt to build 3 mini hydro dams

Spread, Feb 15, 2008
Story: Nehemia Owusu Achiaw & Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
THE government has begun negotiations with the Sinohydro Company of China, the contractors executing the Bui Dam, to construct three additional mini hydro dams in the Central and the Western regions to enhance the country’s energy supply, President J.A. Kufuor has said.
The dams, which will be constructed on the River Ankobra at Ajomoro Ashiem in the Nzema East District, the Tano River at Tanoso, near Elubo in the Jomoro District, both in the Western Region, and River Pra at Assin Awisa in the Twifo-Hemang-Lower Denkyira District in the Central Region, have the capacity to generate 250 megawatts of power.
Delivering his last State of the Nation Address to Parliament yesterday, President Kufuor said the implementation of the policy, which involved a mix of thermal and hydro energy for electricity, would provide the country’s energy requirement for industrialisation.
Ghana was plunged into a serious energy crisis in 2007 following a reduction in the water level of the Akosombo Dam, the main source of energy supply in the country.
The situation led to load shedding, which affected manufacturing and industrial output and employment opportunities.
To overcome the difficulties of energy supply, the government has implemented a short to medium and long-term energy policy to solve the problem once and for all.
Last year, President Kufuor cut the sod for the commencement of the Bui Dam, a project which had remained on the drawing board for close to 100 years. On completion, it is expected to generate about 400 megawatts of energy.
A team of consultants from a French consulting engineering firm, Coyner et Bellier, has already begun feasibility studies for the construction of the three dams.
Coyner et Bellier specialises in the designing, construction and supervision of large infrastructural projects such as hydraulic and hydropower dams.
President Kufuor said one of the legacies of his government was the West African Gas Pipeline project which had been completed and indicated that the first free flow of nitrogen from the pipeline had begun.
He said the project was expected to impact positively on energy generation in the country, since gas was a relatively cheaper source of energy than crude oil.
Touching on other achievements of his government, President Kufuor said since assuming office, the government had prosecuted measures and enacted laws to facilitate the growth of the private sector, in line with the declaration of the Golden Age of Business.
On agriculture, the President said through various interventions, the agricultural sector was attracting some large-scale commercial farmers.
Additionally, he said, the cocoa sector registered the highest ever production level of more than 740,000 tonnes during the 2005/2005 crop year, saying that the target was to attain a million tonnes in the next couple of years, as well as encourage value addition.
President Kufuor said the government had also registered appreciable successes in employment generation, especially with the implementation of the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP), as well as areas such as public sector/private sector partnership, public sector pay reforms, good governance, law and order and foreign relations.
On the refurbishment of Job 600 for use by Members of Parliament (MPs), the President gave the assurance that fresh resources had been secured by the government to complete the project.
He advised the House to consider preparing a comprehensive budget of its needs for funding, in the same way that the Judiciary had been doing.
The President reported that the rehabilitation of the presidential lodges built by Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the country’s first President, had been done “not for the vanity of the presidency” but to preserve such national assets.
He underscored the need for the utilisation of the four state-of-the-art stadiums in the country for human resource development.
On the forthcoming elections, President Kufuor said four elections had so far been organised in the country, with progressive improvement in each of them.
He said when there was so much going for the country’s electoral process, there should be no reason for people to contemplate extra measures for resolving imaginary scenarios in the coming elections.
Increasingly, the President said, Ghanaians had been displaying a strong yearning to be the best or with the best in Africa, as was manifested clearly during the just-ended Ghana 2008 soccer tournament.
Although Ghana did not win the trophy as had been expected, the President said, the country should be proud of winning the bronze and, above all, for hosting an exciting and successful soccer fiesta adjudged by many of the continent’s football officials and enthusiasts to be the best so far in the history of the tournament.
He said it was gratifying to note that Ghana had placed first in Africa and 14th in the world in the latest FIFA rankings released last Wednesday.
“This is the first time ever that Ghana has been ranked this high in the FIFA listings,” he said.
The President congratulated the Black Stars and their technical team on doing their best and being good sportsmen and the Local Organising Committee on its contribution.
He also acknowledged the unalloyed support which Ghanaians gave to the Stars and the patriotism they displayed so passionately in the country.
“Of course, l am not forgetting the government’s initiatives in bidding for the tournament and also the investment in the beautiful stadiums, of which we are all so proud,” he said.
The President also used the occasion to thank all Ghanaians for the opportunity given to him to serve as the country’s leader for two terms.