VICE President Paa Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur yesterday, toured the Cenpower project site here in Kpone, in the Kpone Katamanso District of the Greater Accra Region, to ascertain the level of work done so far, after he cut the sod for the commencement of work in January last year.

He also used the occasion to unveil the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), an engine which would be used to construct the sea water intake and outfall, to cool the system for the combined cycle gas turbine power plant.

When completed, the 350 megawatts power plant, with 161 kV substation for power transmission, as well as fuel delivery, treatment and storage facilities and working capital funding for fuel, would contribute 20 per cent to Ghana’s total thermal power generation.

Expected to add 15 per cent to the national grid, the project is 42 per cent complete, and would be finished in the last quarter of 2017.

The US$ 900 million project forms part of efforts being undertaken by the government to increase Ghana’s generational capacity to 5000 megawatts by the year 2020, to make it a net exporter of power to neighbouring countries.

Briefing the media after the inspection, Vice President Amissah-Arthur was impressed by the progress of work, and tasked the engineers on site to ensure they met the deadline.

He said the project was evidence of government’s unwavering commitment to ensuring that the country met its power demands while making it an exporter of power by the set date.

Government, the Vice President said, would go the full haul to provide the support the sector needed so that the country didn’t return to the debilitating power crisis that engulfed it in the last couple of years.

Mr. Samuel Nana Brew Butler, the Board Chairman of Cenpower Generation Company Limited said his firm was committed to the project and would deliver on time.

According to him, the company has been in communication with local authorities of the area so as to adopt environmentally sound strategies when the project comes on stream.

The arrival of the TBM, Mr. Butler noted opens possibilities for engineering and infrastructure development in the oil and gas, transport, water and sewage management sectors.

The Chief Executive Officer of Cenpower, Mr. Theo Sackey, said 90 per cent of the over 700 workers on the site were locals from the area.

The project is being funded by a consortium of South African financial firms including the Rand Merchant Bank, the Export Credit Insurance Corporation, under an export credit cover, and Dutch Development Bank, FMO.