A thermal power plant with the capacity of 340 MW to be built at Kpone, near Tema is scheduled to take off by next June.
The combined Cycle Gas Turbine technology for the plant will use GE Frame 9E gas turbines operating on both natural gas and liquid fuel, thus ensuring high continuous power availability.
The more than $450million project, with funding from both local and international banks, is expected to significantly augment the national power production upon completion.
It is expected to become the largest private sector driven power project in Africa.
The takeoff of the project was announced when the executives of the Sumitomo Corporation from Japan and Cen Power Generation Limited of Ghana, both working on the project, paid a courtesy call on Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur at the Presidency, at Kanda, in Accra, to hold discussions towards resolving some emerging bottlenecks hindering the start of the project.
Details of the said bottlenecks were not disclosed to the media, but are believed to bother on difficulties in financial arrangements emanating from effects of the recently introduced taxes and the Central Bank�s anti-dollarisation measures.
Vice President Amissah-Arthur assured Independent Power Producers (IPPs) of government�s commitment in addressing the challenges facing their participation in the energy sector.
That, he said, was to ensure that government�s 2016 production target of 5,000 Mega Watts (MW) was achieved to meet the increasing demand.
�We assure you that the government would have the challenges addressed to have a financial closure for the project to take off,� the Vice President noted.
According to him, due to the increasing rate of demand for energy, the government remained mindful of the need to encourage more independent power producers to participate in power production to complement government�s efforts.
He, therefore, encouraged continued dialogue between the government and IPP�s to resolve outstanding issues for the successful implementation of projects.
Mr Michihiko Kanegae, Senior Managing Executive Officer of Sumitomo Corporation, the technical partners for the project, lauded the government�s commitment towards the establishment of the plant.
He said the Corporation, one of Japan�s largest investment groups, with presence in 65 countries, has established its office in Ghana as a hub for the West African region.
�We find Ghana as ideal destination for our investment,� he said, and noted that the Corporation was fully committed in ensuring the successful execution of the Kpone power project, while exploring other investment opportunities in the country.
Nana Sam Brew �Butler, Chairman of Cenpower Generation, was optimistic that the project would take off by the end of next month, hoping that the difficulties would be effectively addressed.
He said funding has been secured from the project�s financial partners, made up of a group of international banks, while the preparatory works have been completed.
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