The Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) has signed a contract for the commencement of upgrading works on the Electricity Company of Ghana’s (ECG) low voltage (LV) network in the Company’s Kwabenya District.

The project is expected to be completed by end of August, this year.

Similar LV network upgrading works in the Achimota and Akuapim Mampong Districts have been completed, while those in the Dansoman and Kaneshie Districts will be completed in March, this year.

This is contained in a statement issued by the Communication and Outreach Unit of MiDA, in Accra, and copied to the Ghana News Agency on Thursday.

The statement said the LV network improvement Project, which referred to the LV Bifurcation Project, involves installing 350 new and higher capacity transformers, upgrading 1,000km of conductors, and erecting over 16,000 wooden transmission poles across the five earmarked ECG districts, to enhance electricity delivery in the beneficiary areas.

It is estimated that 397,950 customers in the five ECG Districts, namely; Kaneshie, Dansoman, Achimota, Akuapim Mampong and Kwabenya will directly benefit from the Project, which is funded by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) of the United States of America, as part of the US$308 million Ghana Power Compact Programme.

When completed, it is expected that customers in the beneficiary Districts will experience a significant reduction in power outages that occur in their communities due to overloaded transformers and substandard conductors.

According to Roland Osei Nyarko, the LV Bifurcation Project Manager at MiDA, “besides improving general access to electricity and enhancing the quality of power supply, the interventions will also strengthen and support the operating environment for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

“This will ultimately contribute to improved incomes, enhance job opportunities and sustain poverty reduction.”

The LV Bifurcation Project is one of four Sub-Project Activities that make up the ECG Financial and Operational Turnaround (EFOT) Project under the Power Compact Programme.