The Chief Executive of Symbion Power, Paul Hinks has announced that the company will kick start its power production in the country using natural gas and jet fuel.
Mr. Hinks arrived in the country over the weekend to conclude a power purchase agreement with government this week to kick start the construction of 100 megawatts of power in July this year.
The company has already signed a letter of intent to increase the capacity to 430 megawatts estimated to cost 700 million dollars once the country’s gas infrastructure is completed.
Paul Hinks told Joy Business the project which will run during peak hours will significantly address the current energy crisis facing Ghana.
“For a start we will use natural gas and jet fuel to operate the turbines until the gas infrastructure in Ghana is completed, so for now the 100 megawatts will be available only during peak hours in the morning and in the evening because jet fuel is expensive,” he added.
Last year, the Energy and Petroleum Minister Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah and Paul Hinks signed the letter of intent in the US to formalize the deal.
The decision by Symbion to invest in Ghana was arrived at after intense negotiation with the chief executive of the Ghana investment promotion center Mawuena Trebah.
Mr. Hinks said as part of the deal, Symbion will also offer training for Ghanaians abroad who will in turn train local expertise who will be employed. “Wherever we operate, we have always made it a point to employ over 90 percent of our staff locally with few expatriates joining and we intend to do same in Ghana,” he assured.
Chief Executive Office of the Ghana Investment Promotion Center Mawuena Trebah told Joy Business the center exist to identify and bring to the country strategic investors to aid economic growth and create jobs for the country.
She is optimistic the tariff negotiation between Symbion, the Energy Ministry and Electricity Company of Ghana will be concluded this week to the mutual benefit of all the parties.
According to Mrs. Trebah, while the center will work to ensure the commercial interest of the investor, steps will always be taken to strike the needed balance in all negotiation.
“For us at the Center, bringing in strategic investors to develop our energy infrastructure will always remain key to ensure sustainable economic development’ she emphasized.”
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