Washington, Sept. 17, GNA - Ghana on Tuesday secured a 350-million dollar credit facility from the United States (US) to fund the implementation of the Phase Four of the Self-Help Rural Electrification Programme (SHEP-4).

The money will be made available through the Exim Bank of US and JP Marjan and Chase also of US.

It is estimated that about one million people in 2,000 communities would be provided with access to electricity under this funding. President John Agyekum Kufuor, who witnessed the formal signing of the agreement on the facility at the Blair House in Washington DC, said it would give significant push to the Government's drive to connect schools in all parts of the country with Information Communication Technology (ICT).

Besides, it would assist Ghana in ensuring that all communities enjoyed power supply in line with the target of achieving middle income status by 2015.

Ghana's Deputy Finance Minister, Professor George Gyan Baffour initialled it on behalf of the Government, while Mr. Joe Grandmaison, a Board Member of the Bank signed for his Institution.

SHEP is a component of the National Electrification Scheme (NES) under which communities within 20 kilometres of an existing medium voltage network and meet other criteria, are eligible to be hooked to the national power grid.

Since its inception in 1989, the percentage of Ghanaians with access to electricity had gone up from 15 to about 60 per cent.

President Kufuor said he was happy the deal had gone through, noting that, without electricity, there could not be rapid development. He spoke of the need to ensure that the contractors awarded the job delivered promptly, saying, they should work to meet deadlines.

Professor Gyan Baffour said the project, to be implemented by the Energy Ministry with technical support from the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), together with other on-going ones would result in an increase in access to electricity from the present level of 60 per cent to 80 per cent within the next five years.

It has, he said, been also structured to allow for strong Ghanaian participation during the construction phase to employ permanently on various projects about 500 Ghanaians.

Mr. Grandmaison said the idea that they could be helpful to Ghana in a project like this was a source of honour to the Bank.

President Kufuor had earlier in the day, at a military honour ceremony laid a wreath at the Arlington National Cemetery, a tradition reserved for dignitaries invited on state visit to the US.

Taking part at the solemn but colourful ceremony were contingents of the US army, the marines, Airforce, Navy and Coast Guards. The Cemetery was established in 1862 and it is here that the country's war heroes are buried.