Accra, March 17, GNA - Ghana is firmly committed to the goal of linking various national transmission grids in the sub-region to create a wholesale power market in West Africa.

Deputy Energy Minister, Inusah Fuseini, who gave the assurance, said Ghana would continue to support efforts by West African Power Pool (WAPP) programme as a vehicle to promote a common approach to specific national and regional power projects.

He gave the assurance at a meeting of Energy Ministers of Ghana, Burkina Faso and Mali on the electricity interconnection project. The meeting is to enable the ministers discuss the outcome of the pre-investment studies on the Han-Bobo Dioulasso-Sikasso-Bamako interconnection project and adopt an institutional framework for its accelerated realisation.

The ECOWAS Heads of State and Governments approved the establishment of WAPP in January 2006 to ensure acceleration of the implementation of priority projects identified to improve access of Member States to electric energy through the inter-connections of their grids. The project also aims at increasing transmission capacity between countries in the sub-region for trading of electricity which would improve reliability of supply, reduce production costs and, during drought periods, meet shortfall in output of hydropower stations. Mr. Fuseini said while the Ministers' work to support interconnectivity between the national systems, the utility companies must develop common technical standards to ensure that systems put in place were operated on these common standards.

Mr. Amadou Diallo, WAPP Secretary General, said the respective environmental protection agencies in Ghana, Burkina Faso and Mali had approved the implementation of the 742 kilometre project. Based on the recommended option, the global cost for the project is 133.1 million Euros to allow the initial transfer of 130 Mega watts from Ghana beyond 2015.

"The economic analyses demonstrate that the project delivers a Net Present Value of 252 million Euros at an economic internal rate of return of 27 per cent", Mr. Diallo said.

He said any delay in the implementation of the project by a year would diminish the Net Present Value of the project by about 18.5 million Euros and a gain by a similar margin if advanced by another year. "It is quite incumbent that we move the project forward at full speed to ensure that these benefits accrue to our peoples in the shortest possible time", Mr. Diallo added.