The Government of Ghana has chosen to extend Africa and Middle East Resource Investment (AMERI) deal which will now run until the end of April 2021.

This is according to the Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), Benjamin Boakye.

Mr Boakye in an interview with the B&FT newspaper said the extension of the deal is to allow it pay a remaining balance of US$92 million owed to AMERI.

“The amount includes a US$36million debt and US$56million in no cost extension, and it is understood that government wants to use the next three months to settle this amount in addition to conducting a technical audit to ascertain soundness of the plant.”

“This could have been avoided and the process could have been smoother if we did the renegotiation early,” Benjamin Boakye stressed.

Meanwhile, the government through the Volta River Authority intended to take ownership of the 230 megawatts plant from February 1, 2021, per the contractual agreement.

The power deal was initially signed under the erstwhile John Mahama administration in 2015 at a cost of US$510 million for a period of five years.

Some energy experts on the other hand have cautioned Ghana is likely to plunge into another power crisis over the lack of preparedness by the government to take over the AMERI Power deal on time.