Chinese Experts Stranded

(Chronicle) -- About 11 Chinese energy experts, mainly engineers, who are in the country to continue work on the 84.0-acre land released to the Sunon Asogli Power Ghana Limited by the Kpone Traditional Council (KTC) for the production of electric energy are stranded. The land has been hijacked by the Volta Aluminum Company Limited (VALCO).

Twenty of the energy experts who were already in the country before VALCO started erecting a concrete fence wall around the parcel of land thereby debarring them from having access to the land to continue their work on the over U.S.$ 550 million project have returned to China. The amount of money involved is not a government guaranteed loan but a true foreign direct investment

Sources close to the stranded Chinese energy experts told The Chronicle that the experts were presently putting up in hotels in Tema and Accra and were disappointed with what was going on. They are practically unable to understand why a major project as this could suffer such a hitch.

According to our source, the experts do not believe the country actually needs the energy, perhaps we are just talking otherwise this would not be happening.

Our source said they also disclosed that they were motivated to come and establish the power plant in the country as a result of the acute energy problem that has confronted the country in recent times.

The source said before they decided to come to Ghana, they had received all the assurances of government's support for the project. They said they were aware of land problems in the country and therefore when they arrived they had thorough discussions on several occasions with the Kpone Traditional Council and each time, they were reassured that the land was a problem free one.

The experts said the Chinese government had wanted them to set up the power plant in their own country but being convinced by the assurances they had received from top political figures in Ghana, they decided to come down and establish here.

We learnt that the Chinese experts were moving up and down the country in frustration trying to attract the sympathy of powers that be, to help release that portion of land in which over U.S.$50 million had already been sunk in the preparation of the project.

Geological surveys and other activities including the digging of holes for the installation of project equipment as well as the final design of the plant, based on the results of the various studies conducted hane been completed over the last three months. Therefore, the possibility of the project managers abandoning the site to look for a fresh piece of land and starting the process all over again would mean a huge financial loss and time to them.

The project which was expected to come in two phases with phase one establishing a combined cycle power plant capable of generating 200MW of power by February next year and the phase two, expanding the generating capacity of the plant by 360MW within the next twelve months from the date of completion of phase one, have all grounded to a halt.

A detailed design of the entire project has already been completed, while the dismantling and the rehabilitating of the gas turbine generators for the smooth take-off of the project is nearing completion.

A contractual agreement, which has already been signed with a civil engineering company to start the civil works and which was expected to complete by the end of this month has been thrown overboard by the refusal of VALCO to allow them access to the land.

We also learnt that the manufacture of boilers, main transformers and the GIS switchboard were almost complete in faraway China while the equipment for the first phase of the project were sitting in a warehouse in China ready to be shipped into the country in November and December this year, well in time for the completion of the project and for its take-off in February next year.

The arrival of the Chinese experts in the country would be a benefit to the nation because as The Chronicle learnt, plans were already afoot for the experts to help the Volta River Authority (VRA) to set up some facilities including surveying and building of transmission lines for VRA, after the Kpone project, but from the look of things, this would slip through our fingers.

Meanwhile, the man who managed to woo the Chinese into the country to invest in the multi-million dollar project, Togbe Afede XIV, President of the Asogli State council has expressed frustration over the stance of the Executive Chairman of the smelter company, Dr. Charles Mensah.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Togbe Afede XIV, he confirmed his frustration over the turn of events in the whole transaction and expressed shock on how this kind of attitude could help the country reach the middle income status by 2015 as envisaged by the government.

He pointed out that knowing how important the project meant to Ghanaians, he had thrown over À1 billion into it as travelling expenses and in the provision of accommodation for the Chinese experts.

The Chief expressed astonishment over how an individual could take the whole country to ransom by preventing a project of this size and magnitude, which apart from bringing relief to the country in terms of the supply of energy could also create employment for people in the area and beyond, from being carried out.

Togbe Afede pointed out that such attitude stifles investment and is likely to discourage local people from bringing down investors to sink their capital in the country's investment drive, especially at this time in the history of the country where a sitting President is touring the whole world trying to get investors to come and invest in the country.

Ghanaians across the length and breadth of the country have expressed disappointment in the way the whole issue has played out, especially in a period when the country very much needs energy to keep its quest for development on course.