Gov’t Seals 350MW Power Deal

President John Mahama

President John Mahama



President John Mahama
Government has brokered a deal with United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the construction of a 350 Megawatts (MW) power plant in the Western Region.

The 350MW plant would boost government’s efforts at increasing power generation to 5,000MW by 2016.

The project, which would be undertaken by TAQA, would produce 100MW of power during its first phase.

The combined cycle power plant project would also witness the production of 100,000 cubic metres of desalinated water daily.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between President John Mahama and the Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs of the UAE, Sheik Al Gaith, at the Presidential Villa at Akosombo in the Eastern Region.

For more than a decade now, Ghana has experienced intermittent power supply which has raised concern over the state of the country’s energy sector.

Ghana’s current total installed capacity of about 2,800MW and the country’s demand of between 7 and 8 per cent per annum has compelled government to explore several options, including renewable sources and coal-powered plants to ensure enough supply for consumption.

Ben Dotsey Malor, Head of Communications and Presidential Spokesperson, at a press briefing after the deal, said that the UAE decided to offer $100 million grant to the government from the Abu Dhabi Development Fund for the execution of various infrastructure projects.

He said during the discussion between government officials and the UAE team, the issue of expanding the Tema Port to enhance its capacity to handle more goods, improve on the turn-around time for vessels that dock there came up for consideration.

Dotsey Malor added that President Mahama also touched on the increase in the number of passengers in the aviation sector and called on the investors to explore that area as well.

By Cephas Larbi

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