|
Bui Project starts - another vision put
in place
Ghanadot – The Bui
Dam that has been on the drawing board since Nkrumah was
overthrown approached reality when President John Agyekum
Kufuor on Friday cut the sod to mark the start of work on
the 622-million-dollar electric dam.
Speaking at the ceremony
President Kufuor gave a firm assurance that its
implementation would be kept consistent with internationally
accepted environmental standards and best practices. A
comprehensive environmental monitoring and mitigation plan,
he said, had been incorporated in the Project’s design to
minimize its negative impact.
The president said the Project,
programmed for completion in early 2012, was part of the
overall strategy to triple the country’s energy supply
capacity from the current 2,000 megawatts to 6,000 megawatts
by 2015.
The project will add some 400
megawatts of power to the national electricity generation
mix on completion. The construction phase is projected to
give direct employment to 2,900 Ghanaians
Apart from hydropower generation, the project has
irrigation, fisheries and tourism components and the
construction of a metropolis to be called Bui City that is
expected to provide impetus to the economic and social
transformation of the area..
Additionally, the Government would ensure that compensatory
plans for resettlement of about 2,000 people, who would be
affected by the Project, would draw extensively on
experiences from earlier re-settlement schemes undertaken
during the construction of the Akosombo and Kpong
Hydro-Electric Projects.
He called on the nation’s engineers, technicians and
managers as well as both skilled and unskilled labour to
take full advantage of it to help to promote the necessary
technology transfer that would enable the country to execute
similar projects on its own in the future.
Sino-Hydro, Chinese Company, reputed for the construction of
China’s biggest hydropower dam is constructing the project.
President Kufuor spoke of plans to build small dams on the
Ankobra, Pra, Tano and the White Volta.
He said “to look ahead to the next 30 years, to forestall
the current energy shortage problems that currently confront
us, and in anticipation of increased population and
widespread industrialization, it is hoped that planning
ahead for increased energy supply will become part of the
national culture”.
President Kufuor conveyed the country’s appreciation to
China, which is providing 562 million dollars towards the
Project. The remaining 60 million dollars is from the
Government of Ghana.
“The (Bui) Hydro-Energy Project is yet another addition to
the list of collaborative ventures,” he said.
Mr Joseph Kofi Adda, Energy Minister, described the Project
as a ‘dream that has become a reality’.
Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Finance Minister, asked the business
community to seize the opportunity offered by the Project to
create more wealth and jobs.
China’s Ambassador, Mr Yu Wenzhe said Ghana and his country
were both developing and that it was important for them to
cooperate and to assist each other in times of need.
He said China would continue to support Ghana as well as
encourage its entrepreneurs to invest and set up
joint-ventures in the country.
Mr J.H. Mensah, a Statesman, who presided, said the project
was in fulfilment of a promise the Government made to the
nation.
Source GNA
|
