To give industrialists a reason to invest in the upcoming Dawa Industrial Park near Ada in the Greater Accra Region, LMI Holdings -- the company that owns the project -- has held a ground-breaking ceremony to begin construction of what will become Ghana’s largest power sub-station, near the site.

The 396 Mega Volt Amp (MVA) bulk supply substation is estimated to cost US$80million and is to be executed by Enclave Power Company (EPC) Limited, a subsidiary of LMI Holdings.

Enclave Power operates as the only privately owned power distribution utility in the country, and has since the year 2000 been supplying electricity to industrial and commercial customers within the Free Zones area in Tema.

In the next twelve months 132MVA of the substation’s total capacity is expected to be ready, and according to Ernest Owusu-Afari, Executive Director of the wholly-owned Ghanaian group of companies, a number of investors have already expressed interest in the industrial park project.

“We are not mentioning names yet, but a number of investors are lined up. You know, as private business people we would not put US$80million in this if our legs were not on something,” he told the B&FT on the sidelines of the groundbreaking ceremony.

Enclave Power has been licenced to distribute and sell power to customers within the 8,000-acre Dawa Industrial enclave, which will be a mixed development of industrial, commercial and residential establishments.

The new Industrial Zone will provide an enclave of heavy, light and cottage industries; Agro Processing concerns, and a Logistics Centre that will provide support services to all entities within the Zone.

“Currently, EPC supplies electricity to over 60 industrial and commercial customers, including renowned multi-national blue-chip companies like Cargill Ghana and Barry Callebaut -- two of the world’s largest cocoa processing companies, and two of the largest steel mills in the country…United Steel Company and Rider Steel Ghana Limited,” Ernest Owusu-Afari said.

“As part of its credentials, EPC has a proven record of effective collections from its customers. The company has maintained a 100% record of collection from its customers over the last five years, and has no bad debts on its books,” he added.

Present at the ceremony were Power Minister Dr. Kwabena Donkor and Chinese Ambassador to Ghana Sun Baohong, who was there to support a Chinese sub-contractor on the project.

Dr. Donkor commended management of the company for the initiative, and pledged government’s commitment to partnering with the private sector to bring about stable power supply and job-creation.

“Ghana’s transformation agenda must begin with the power sector. I have often said that we sit on 2 billion tonnes of iron ore. This God-given resource can only be developed on the back of reliable and cost-effective power and on the back of a vigorous industrial plan. The Power Ministry is ready to provide this leadership, and we will not fail this country,” the minister said.

The Power Minister also used the occasion to assure the nation that plans to take the nation out of the recurrent electricity shortages by end of year “are on schedule”.

He mentioned the soon-to-come-on-stream Kpone 220megawatts project, the recently delivered Ameri power plants, and the Karpowership as reasons for his streak of hope.