Electricity Corporation Signs 6.5bC Contract

Accra The Electricity Corporation of Ghana (ECG) has signed a 6.5 bC contract for the establishment of two 20 megawatts electricity sub-stations at Batsona and Ridge in Accra. It was signed by Mr John Kobena Hagan, Managing Director of ECG, and Mr Nagarajan V. Krishman, Area Marketing Manager of Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) Ghana, for ABB-Power Tech. The contract has a foreign component cost of 2.167 million dollars and a local component of 323.2 mC. Mr Hagan said the foreign component is to be funded under a 33 million-dollar World Bank credit under the National Electrification Project for the rehabilitation, upgrading and extension of ECG sub- stations and distribution network. Mr Hagan said the contract is a major investment for the ECG to improve the quality of its services. He said ECG's customers are growing at 10 per cent each year and with plans by the Volta River Authority to commission a 300- megawatt thermal plant at Takoradi, it is necessary that ECG's network is adequately reinforced and upgraded to receive additional power from such new sources. Mr Hagan said as part of its re-inforcement programme, ECG has over the past two years invested about 30 bC of World Bank credit and 30 bC of Export Credit Guarantee Department credit to improve its operations. The corporation has so far invested 20 bC from its own funds to refurbish and upgrade primary sub-stations as well as instal new 33,000 volts supply cables and overhead lines in Accra, Tema and Kumasi.