From Tommy Ekpe, Jomoro District [The Business Analyst]

The Volta River Authority (VRA) has secured deals in which two projects that will yield 900 megawatts of electric power to the country within the next three years are to be aggressively pursued.

Contracts for feasibility studies have been awarded for the use of 100 hectares of land at the Domunli Gas and Power enclave, to implement the projects. According to the Chief Executive Officer of the VRA, Mr. Kweku Andoh Awotwi, the project, which is in two phases, will push to another level the power generation capacity of the VRA in its quest to remain the giant that it has always been in Africa.

Speaking to the media at the site of the project in Domunli in the Jomoro District of the Western Region on Monday, he said his outfit, working under the auspices of the Ministry of Energy, has earmarked 50 hectares of the enclave for a project that will produce 450MW in the first phase, which is expected to begin within nine months.

He said this when the Minister of Energy, Dr. Joe Oteng-Adjei, paid a working visit to the area as part of his tour of the Western Region to ascertain progress on various projects being implemented by his ministry.

They include a $350 million Rural Electrification Project being undertaken by Weldy Lamont/TMG, a US-Ghanaian company.

He was accompanied by Deputy Minister of Energy in charge of Petroleum and Member of Parliament for Ellembele Constituency, Hon. Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, and some technocrats from the ministry as well as top officials from the implementing agencies.

So far, design drawings for 1,292 towns in 17 districts in the Western Region under first survey works by the contractor have been approved by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) for construction. Out of this number, the state agency has issued work orders on 479 towns for award packages to the contractor for which works have commenced in 402 towns.

The minister’s visit took him to some of these towns, which include Suazo and Ansokrom in the Jomoro District, Banso and Asonsi in the Nzema East Municipality and Ajan in Ellembele District, among others.

Kick-starting his tour with a meeting with members of the Jomoro District Assembly, he urged the people of Jomoro to ensure that they take advantage of various projects being embarked on in their District. Dr. Oteng-Adjei said the installation of a power generation plant in the area, which will feed on processed gas from Atuabo, will attract industries to the locality to provide jobs for the people.

He therefore called on them, especially the youth, to develop themselves in readiness for the opportunities that will become available. He also urged them to remain calm while the government undertakes the expected facilities, adding that ‘it is in peace that development is possible’. The minister is expected to inspect work on other rural electrification projects in various districts across the country in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, Ghana National Gas Company (Ghana Gas) is looking forward to taking delivery of transmission pipelines it has ordered to transmit natural gas from the Jubilee Field to Atuabo in the Ellembelle District, where it will be processed for onward transmission to fire the Aboadze thermal plant. Pipelines would also be connected to fire the Domunli power plants that would installed. A print version of this article was published in The Business Analyst of Wednesday, May 16th – Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012 E-mail: thebusinessanalystgh@gmail.com