The Minister for Energy and Green Transition, Dr John Abdulai Jinapor, last Friday launched a turnkey electrification project to extend power to 206 communities in the 18 districts of the Volta Region.
The GH₵ 598 million project, being implemented by a local company, Byes and Ways, under the Rural Electrification Accelerated and Urban Intensification Initiative, is scheduled to be completed in six months.
The principal objective of the initiative is to reduce poverty, create jobs, and promote socio-economic development through improved access to power.
Speaking at a durbar at the forecourt of the Volta Regional Coordinating Council (VRCC), Dr Jinapor said the project would significantly improve access to power for communities currently without power and those that needed power extension.
Power supply in Ho
Further, he said, the government had made colossal investments to strengthen electricity transmission and improve power supplies in Ho and other parts of the region and also undertake a 161KV transmission line from Asiekpe to Ho, to improve voltage levels and enhance the reliability of electricity.
The current Ho power substation
Dr Jinapor said the construction of a new power substation project to provide the regional capital with a dedicated power transformer and transmission lines to ease pressure on the existing transformer and transmission infrastructure and improve reliability of power supply to Ho and the surrounding communities had also begun.
The transmission and substation project, being undertaken by Tilt Engineering Limited, is expected to be completed in 12 months.
Dr Jinapor appealed to the beneficiary communities, traditional authorities, and members of the public to cooperate with the project contractors to ensure a timely and successful completion of the work.
“The ministry will closely monitor the implementation of the projects to ensure quality, value for money and timely completion,” Dr Jinapor pledged.
Regional Minister
The Regional Minister, James Gunu, said the power projects provided the region with brighter prospects for investments in tourism, agriculture and industry.
“The Volta Region has become the best investment destination in Ghana, and so, we cannot do without sustainable power,” he maintained.
The Okpekpewuokpe Akpinifia, Togbui Dagadu IX, who chaired the function, said the power programmes bore yet another testimony of the government’s commitment to raise the Volta Region to greater development heights.
He promised the full support of the traditional authorities in the region for the projects.
