Ghana's 1.5 bln USD coal plant to start construction next April: official

Work on Ghana's 1.5 billion dollar coal plant to be built by China's Shenzhen Energy Group will commence next April, state power producer Volta River Authority (VRA) has announced.

The project, to be funded by the China Africa Development Fund (CADF), is expected to take three years to complete.

The state-run Ghana News Agency (GNA) quoted Jacob Brown Yawson, Manager of Technical Services at VRA, as saying that the project is to be sited at Ekumfi Aboano in the Central Region.

Ghana has been seeking to build up its installed generating capacity to 5,000 Megawatts from the current 2,000 MW by 2020 through multiple energy sources.

The first phase of the project that is to be done in partnership with the VRA is expected to install two sets of 350MW plants.

It will then be further expanded either by four sets of 350MW to produce 1,400 MW of power or to be gradually scaled up to 2,000 MW in future.

Yawson noted that Ghana had a high demand for electricity, with the Ghana Grid Company recording seven percent annual rate of increase in demand.

The coal project, therefore, he said, was geared towards sustainable development because it was important to meet the energy requirements for future generation.

"The project is intended to contribute considerably to addressing the domestic power generation shortfall in the near future to improve Ghana's future power balance.

Although there are concerns about coal fired plants, the VRA and Shenzhen Energy Group have pledged to comply with all international and local standards. Enditem