House approves loan agreement for power projects

Backpage, Nov 5, 2008
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
Parliament yesterday gave approval for a US$500 million loan agreement between the government and the Brazilian National Bank for Economic and Social Development to finance the development and construction of the Juale and the Pwalugu hydro-electric power projects.
Feasibility studies on the two hydroelectric projects, which were carried out by Coyne ET of France, under a grant from the French Government in 1993, found out that the schemes were technically and economically attractive to add power generation. They also have the potential to export power to neighbouring countries, when necessary.
The schemes are designed for multi-purpose uses, including power generation, irrigation, fisheries and water transportation, and the credit facility will fund the entire spectrum of activities, from the development of the projects to the construction, inauguration and commercial operation of the two hydro-power schemes.
The construction of the Pwalugu Hydroelectric Scheme on the White Volta in the Upper East Region is expected to add 50 megawatts to Ghana’s energy production, while that of Juale in the Northern Region on the Oti River is expected to generate 90 megawatts.
The government is providing $55 million out of the $555 million cost of the two projects.
According to the report of the Finance Committee of Parliament, which dealt with the loan, government intended to develop modern townships and basic development infrastructure as part of the projects, which would form the building blocks of planned metropolises for the project areas.
The Minister of Energy, Mr Felix Owusu-Adjapong, moved for the approval of the loan and he was seconded by the Chairman of the Finance Committee, Nii Adu Mante Daku.
Members of Parliament from both sides of the House who contributed to the ensuing debate commended the government for taking a bold step to construct the two dams to add to the country’s energy generation.
In another development, the House also approved three other loans for a number of projects.
They included a €33,173,877 loan agreement between the government and Hospital Engineering GMBH of the Federal Republic of Germany for the supply and installation of medical and technical equipment at the 37 Military Hospital and the US$8.195 million loan from the Bank of China for the establishment of ICT-Enabled Distance Education Project at the University of Ghana, Legon.
The other loan agreement was a US$30 million credit facility from the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) for phase four of the self-help electrification programme (SHEP 4) in the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo regions.
Commenting on the loan for the installation and supply of equipment at the 37 Military Hospital, the Deputy Minister of Defence and MP for Akropong, Mr William Ofori Boafo, noted that the hospital also served a large number of civilians, in addition to referral cases from other countries in the West African sub-region.
For his part, the MP for Berekum, Captain Nkrabea Effah-Dartey, called for due diligence to ensure that the equipment that would be supplied to the hospital would not be obsolete but modern.