Accra, June 27, GNA - The NDC Minority Parliament on Wednesday said they favoured an arrangement that would allow the Volta River Authority (VRA) to manage the Bui hydropower programme.

Mr Moses Asaga, NDC member for Nabdam and Ranking Member on Energy, said there was no need to create another authority to manage the Bui project.

The member was contributing to the debate on the Second Reading of the Bui Power Authority Bill, which was re-introduced on the floor of the House after it was withdrawn last week for amendments. Mr Asaga said the VRA had vast experience in hydropower generation and management and global events favoured mergers, as such, there was no need to establish a separate Bui Hydropower Authority.

He said two separate authorities drawing power from the same source- the Volta River - could create unhealthy rivalry and inefficiency.

Mr Abuga Pele, NDC-Chiana-Paga, also raised issues over the creation of several dams by Ghana and other countries on the Volta River and said this could affect the flow and volume of water downstream, thus affecting the Bui dam.

He, therefore, called for talks with Burkina Faso and others over the usage of the river.

The Majority, however, countered arguments by the Minority, when Hildah Addoh, NPP-Kwadaso, said VRA had its own problems and there was the need for the creation of a separate authority to manage the operations of the Bui project.

She said competition between the two bodies would force them to work better.

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the Foreign Minister, said a regional body - Volta River Basin- was already working on the effective management of the river to forestall problems of sharing the common natural resource between various countries.

The Bui hydropower project consists of the construction of a dam and power station at Bui on the Black Volta River.

The execution of the project would increase the current installed capacity of the country's power generation system by 400 megawatts. The Chinese government has expressed interest in the funding of the implementation of the Bui hydropower project at an estimated cost of 600 million dollars.

The project would take five years to implement and it is programmed for completion in February 2012.