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Plans are far advanced to construct a $20-million state- of-the-art centre for the training of engineers at the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCO).

The centre, which will also serve as a training hub for engineers in WestAfrica, would be financed by the Korean Export-Import Bank.

A General Manager of the Transmission Education Team, Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) Academy, Choi Young-Sung, disclosed this at a workshop on Friday.

The workshop was meant to review training programmes which were held between January 2013 and May 2015, to develop capacities of 146 GRIDCO engineers and managers.

The training covered courses in substation engineering, transmission line engineering, power system engineering, project management and supervisory control, and data acquisition and information technology, aimed at equipping participants with improved technical knowledge and practical know-how to efficiently manage the operations and maintenance of transmission systems in Ghana.

It was fully funded with a grant of $1.5 million by the government of Korea through the Korean International Co-operation Agency (KOICA).

Participants at the workshop were also briefed on a memorandum of understanding signed in March between KOICA and the Ministry of Power, for a grant of $2.6 million for a Human Resource Development (HRD) infrastructure plan establishment, for the Ghana transmission system.

The project, to be run by a KEPCO Consortium from 2015 to 2017, would help to design a human resource development master plan for GRIDCO, a training curriculum and conduct training for trainers.

Mr. Choi said phase one of the HRD infrastructure plan establishment would realise an HRD master plan, basic design and cost estimation of training centre, curriculum and text book for fundamental course, and training of trainers for fundamental course.

Phase two, he said, would focus on buildings for lecture rooms, dormitory, cafeteria, laboratory, procurement and installation of tools and equipment, and added that phase three would focus on curriculum and textbooks for advanced courses, training of trainers for advance courses and transferring operation know-how by co-operation.

He advised GRIDCO to continue to provide training opportunities for engineers, appoint trainees to right departments and secure their own training facilities.

Five of the 66 engineers who benefited from the overseas segment of the training programme, made presentations and shared their experiences at the workshop.

The Resident Representative of KOICA, Woochan Chang, urged the beneficiary engineers to translate the knowledge and skills they acquired through the training programme to improve efficiency and reduce transmission losses.

He hoped that GRIDCO would offer the needed support and co-operation to make the HRD infrastructure plan establishment for Ghana transmission system, a reality.

Mr. Woochan was also hopeful that KOICA’s support to GRIDCO would enhance its ability to manage the transmission sector efficiently, so that there would be no need to invite private participation to the sector.

The Chief Executive Officer of GRIDCO, William Amuna, expressed appreciation to the government of Korea for the immense support, which he described as very beneficial.

He expressed his company’s willingness to work with KOICA and KEPCO to realise the new project.