Government justifies decision to relocate the Ameri Power plant to Kumasi
Government has justied its decision to move the Ameri Power Plant to Kumasi insisting it is needed to equally spread generation back-ups across the country.
This comes after concerns were raised about the movement of the plant from Takoradi to Kumasi because of cost concerns.
Ghana earlier this month took over the plant following the expiration of the management of the power plant from the Dubai-based firm Ameri, after government exercised the right to take over when it was offered.
“Ameri was going to build, own, operate and transfer after a five year period and after that the asset was going to become that of the Government of Ghana and so yes, the tenure of the Ameri period has ended and the government has indeed taken over the plant. The plant is now the asset of the government of Ghana”, said the Deputy Minister for Energy, Andrews Egyapa Mercer.
The Deputy Minister also touched on the operational and movement cost of the plant, revealing that it is a good idea given the current state of the country’s economy.
“Absolutely, it is not something that is been done out of the blue, a lot of thought have gone into it. Bare in mind that if you have all your power generation asset in the east or in the west, which is to say in the Takoradi-Sekondi enclave and in the Tema enclave alone, then that in itself is risky.
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“There is no diversity and in the event of some eventualities you are unable to deal with repercussions effectively. Also bare in mind that the distances between the generation plant and the consumption point will require you to transmit the power over a certain mileage. And so its important that for great stability, that you distribute your generation in such a way and manner that then serves your entire consumption geographical area”, he said.
Energy Consultant Dan Boatwe, has described the move as a good one, adding that it was part of the deal to hand over the management of the plant after the build-own-and-operate transfer arrangement expired and by so doing the government had to pay the full amount for the contract before the transfer could happen.
“It was always part of the plan for Ameri to hand over the plant to us, after the build-own-and-operate transfer arrangement expired. That meant that Ghana had to fully pay for the contract sum before the transfer could happen”, he said.
He added that the transfer should have happened in December last year, but the country did not have enough funds to pay for the plant, so it was postponed to April this year. Even with that the government defaulted in paying. So the handing over meant the government has been able to acquire the money to pay for the transfer.
“It was due to have been handed over to Ghana in December 2020, but because we defaulted and couldn’t pay, it was extended to April 2021. And that Also we defaulted, I don’t know whether we have been able to fully pay the outstanding amount. If we have, then that is what is informing the transfer of the asset to Ghana”, he added.
