More units of Bui to come on-stream

The Bui Power Authority (BPA) is scheduled to bring on-stream two more units of the Bui hydroelectric dam by year-end.

The dam has an installed capacity of 400 megawatts. In May this year, the first 133-megawatt unit was launched after dry and wet tests -- which were to verify proper, complete and satisfactory erection of all the sub-systems was successfully carried out.

“The Bui Dam is running and the Bui Power Authority is about to inaugurate the second unit. By the end of November they will launch their third unit. There is really enough generation to take care of everybody for a while,” said the Chief Executive Officer of the Volta River Authority (VRA), Kweku Andoh Awotwi.

The coming on-stream of the additional unit of the dam is expected to increase current power generation capacity. Ghana’s electricity demand stands at about 1,800 megawatts per day.

The VRA, which has a total installed capacity of 2,100 megawatts, generates about 1,600 megawatts of electricity every day. This is augmented by 400 megawatts of combined generation from Bui’s first unit, CENIT and Sunon Asogli power plants.

Inaugurating the first unit of the Bui project in May, President John Mahama said: “Ghana’s energy security is dependent on producing and processing our gas reserves. I am optimistic the end-of-year target to bring the gas on-stream is realisable.”

The Bui Power Authority is set to complete the construction of four transmission lines to aid in evacuation of power from the Bui generating station into the national grid.

Three of the lines head to Sawla, Kintampo and Techiman, while the fourth heads to the Brong Ahafo regional capital, Sunyani.

Ancillary projects being undertaken by the Bui Power Authority include the construction of a landing ramp to support fishing efforts in the Bui reservoir and to enable effective monitoring and control of access to the reservoir, as well as contact with the lake in the interests of public health and sustainable fishing.

There is also the establishing of an irrigation scheme, which is expected to cover an estimated 30,000 hectares of land. The proposed area is located about 32km north-east of the dam-site.

A consulting firm was engaged earlier in the year to conduct detailed feasibility studies of the proposed area, and also provide detailed designs for the development of 5,000 hectares in the first phase of development.

The Bui project started in 2007 with a loan from the Chinese government, but experienced a shortfall in project funding -- arising primarily from unanticipated effects of the recent global economic crunch, unforeseen essential works, and inadequacy of budgetary allocations for some line items in the Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) Contract.

Government however secured additional funding totalling US$168.4million from the Eximbank in China.