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According to Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, there are financial issues with the Pwalugu multipurpose dam project. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo laid the foundation for the Pwalugu Multipurpose Dam and Irrigation Project three years ago.
President Akufo-Addo claims that the project would be the single, greatest investment ever undertaken by any government in the northern part of the country. And that it is a fulfillment of a promise he made to the Ghanaians on February 21 when he gave the State of the Nation Address.
On Friday, November 29, 2019, when construction began, the President declared that he had made a commitment to build a dam that would permanently avert the perennial flooding caused by the overflow of the Bagre Dam in neighboring Burkina Faso.
He said, “We started the process of fulfilling this commitment today. Today, we begin the process of assisting in providing relief to the residents of our country’s northern regions. And laying the groundwork for the region’s long-term growth and development.
Components of the Pwalugu multipurpose dam project
The Pwalugu multipurpose dam project will have three main parts. The building of a hydropower plant, the building of a solar farm. As well as the installation of an irrigation system that will cover around 25,000 hectares.
The 60mw hydropower project and the 50mw solar power plant, according to Akufo-Addo, will be Ghana’s first hydro-solar hybrid system. The two technologies complement one another to offer dependable and stable electricity to the national grid.
President Akufo-Addo continued, “The initiative has the potential to raise the country’s yearly rice production by 117,000 metric tons. As well as cutting rice imports by 16%, despite the fact that millions of dollars are spent on rice imports.”
Additionally, he stated that the Pwalugu reservoir can support up to 100,000 fish cages of 25sqm each. With an average production of 2 tons per cage, making it is possible for the country’s aquaculture and fisheries sector to grow.
Furthermore, he said that this project is also essential to the success of the One District, One Factory plan. Since it would work as a stimulus for the growth of the agro-industry, including the revival of the Pwalugu Tomato factory.
An overview of the Pwalugu multipurpose dam
The multipurpose Pwalugu dam will be built near the Pwalugu Bridge on the White Volta River. It will have a maximum reservoir area of 350 km in addition to a powerhouse consisting of two turbines with a capacity of 60MW each.
Moreover, the project will comprise 16.5MW of firm continuous capacity as well as a 15km overhead line which will export power to an existing transmission line. The construction of the dam will be funded with a loan from China. It will take about three and a half years to complete.
The project will come with a 25,000 irrigation scheme. This will boost annual rice production by up to 117,000 tonnes and maize by up to 49,000 tonnes in the country. Other plants included in the anticipated production boost are crops like tomatoes, sugar, sweet potato, sweet pepper, and onions. |
