The Ministry of Energy has in conjunction with the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), urged US energy firm, Symbion Power to accelerate its 450 megawatt gas to electricity project to ensure that at least the first 100 megawatts of power is available in early 2015.<\/p>\n
This according to the Ministry will help stem the recurring power shortfalls in the country.<\/p>\n
The Energy Minister, Emmanuel Kofi Buah made the call to the Chief Executive Officer of Symbion Power, Paul Hinks when the two held a meeting at the instance of the Minister last week.<\/p>\n
At the meeting, which was attended by officials from the Ministry of Energy as well as the Chief Executive of the GIPC, Mawuena Trebarh, Mr. Kofi Buah said \u201cthe government will provide full support to Symbion Power to put the new power plant on a faster track because Ghanaians are suffering unnecessarily.\u201d<\/p>\n
Government, Mr. Buah indicated, will allocate land for the project to ensure that gas will be available for Symbion in time for the commissioning.\u00a0 He charged staff of the Ministry to work with the Electricity Company of Ghana to complete negotiations for the Power Purchase Agreement within one month to pave way for work to commence.<\/p>\n
Answering questions from reporters after the meeting, the Symbion CEO Paul Hinks said \u201cWe have responded very positively to this request from Ghana and we will work hand in hand with the government and ECG who want us to deliver the first megawatts within a year of signing a PPA.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have already received proposals from gas turbine manufacturers and suppliers in the United States and we will begin negotiations for the plant and equipment soon.\u00a0 The aero-derivative type of power plant we will utilize can be built very quickly. We have extensive experience operating this equipment in Africa\u201d.<\/p>\n
When asked if President Obama\u2019s Power Africa Initiative would play a role in the project Hinks answered; \u201cIt is the support of Power Africa that has spurred Symbion to develop power projects in a number of countries over the past year.\u00a0 President Obama has created a new model for supporting development in Africa, which sees the US government supporting actors from both the private and public sectors.\u00a0 It is a unique approach to development that will encourage real investment and not just old-fashioned donor dependence.<\/p>\n
Hinks said: \u201cWhen a country\u2019s economy reaches the stage that Ghana has, it needs to reduce its reliance on Development Finance Institutions such as the World Bank who provide large loans that must be paid back.\u00a0 Power Africa does not burden countries with debt and the funds that go to the public sector from the US Agency for International Development and the Millennium Challenge Corporation are grants, which don\u2019t have to be repaid.\u00a0 The private sector has to borrow money but that is quite normal for them\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe MOU we signed with Ghana during the UN General Assembly was the first we executed with a Power Africa country after Power Africa was launched in July 2013.\u00a0 We have made a commitment to our government that we will invest at least $1.8 billion US dollars of project costs into Africa in five years and by working with financial institutions and our own investors we intend to exceed this number.\u00a0 It may sound like a lot of money but when you consider that the Ghana power plant will itself cost as much as $600 million US dollars you will see that it does not take many projects to achieve our target,\u201d the Symbion CEO stated.<\/p>\n
\u201cSymbion is well known for being a company that gives a lot back to the communities where it operates.\u00a0 In fact I will say that on a percentage of revenue basis we probably do considerably more than most companies and we are creative.\u00a0 In East Africa we are building a football academy in partnership with UK Premier League side Sunderland FC.\u00a0 It will teach academic skills as well as football.\u00a0 We have done other things such as creating our own academic school in rural Tanzania.\u00a0 We will be applying the same approach in Ghana\u201d.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Source: Mediaexcelghana<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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