Ghana is planning to set up a new 360-megawatt combined-cycle thermal power plant at the Inchaban in the Shama District in the Western Region. This is in a bid to raise the country’s power supply and ease demand shortages.
Construction of the 360 MW power plant, which has been proposed by a Norwegian energy company, will start from next year. The power plant will run on natural gas and light crude oil. The construction project, to span 45-acre piece of land, will be undertaken under a public-private partnership arrangement.
Construction is expected to begin next year after the documentation and processes are complete. Already, the government has compensated 32 farmers to be affected by execution of the new power project. There has also been held a public hearing on Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (EIA) where potential impacts & public concerns and proposed solutions to be undertaken were discussed in anticipation of the new project.
Western Regional Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Mr Yaw Sarfo-Afriyie has explained that the consultation would help ensure that the project achieved the goal of sustainable development, adding that it will not be limited to pre-constructional and the constructional phases but will continue.
The company in charge of constructing the new power plant is Jacobson Jelco Ghana Limited and Director of Project Development of the company, Mr Lars Due has said the company has experience in the production and distribution of power.
Ghana has also planned other power plant construction projects such as 200 MW combined-cycle thermal power plant to be located at coastal town of Prampram, and which was slated to start off in 2015.
