GRIDCo and Societe-Generale sign 82.2 million Euro Agreement for the Energy Sector

Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) and Societe Generale on Wednesday signed two loan agreements, totalling 82.2 million Euros for financing developments in the energy sector.

A total of 48.1 million Euros will be used to finance the Tumu-Han-Wa transmission project to enhance reliability of power supply in the Northern sector of the country and the remaining 34.1 million Euros will be used for the financing of the Substations Reliability Enhancement Project under which 21 substations would see an uplift.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Energy Minister Dr Joe Oteng Adjei, said the agreement was an indication of government's commitment to ease the constraints within the power sector and help attain the generation capacity of 5,000 mega watts by 2015.

He said the financing arrangement was part of government's initiative to ensure reliable operation of the transmission network and replace old equipment, which were unable to cope with the demand as the economy expanded.

Dr Adjei said, the Tumu-Han-Wa project would create a loop that would enable supply of reliable power to the north saying “we are doing all these to ensure that the bottlenecks and the continuous key constraints within the generation, transmission and distribution systems are removed”.

Mr Seth Terkper, Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, said the agreements were part of three major initiatives announced by government in the 2012 Budget to enhance infrastructural development and ensure sustainable power to meet the developmental needs of the country.

Mr Gilbert Hie, Country Manager for Societe General and Managing Director of SG-SSB, said the bank was delighted in supporting Ghana’s energy sector and assisting government to generate the targeted 5,000 megawatts.

“It is our desire to partner the Government in the socio-economic development of the country and strengthen the cordial business relations that presently exist between SG, SG-SSB and the Government in future,” he said.

Mr Charles Darku, CEO of GRIDCo, said the company had already begun work to improve the transmission system and funding from the bank would speed up the implementation and attainment of goals of replacing old equipment.**