Prospects For Ghana’s Nuclear Power Programme Bright – Engineers

The Ghana Institution of Engineering (GhIE) has called on all stakeholders to support the Ghana Nuclear Power Programme to bridge the gap between projected future energy demand and dwindling power generating capacity to drive the country’s industrial transformation agenda.

The GhIE President, Ing. Steve A. Amoaning-Yankson, made this call when he delivered a Welcome Address at a 2-day International Workshop on Quality Control/Quality Assurance organised under the auspices of the Ghana Nuclear Power Programme Organisation (GNPPO), in collaboration with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Expert Mission to review the integration of quality in the Management System of GNPPO, at the Engineers Centre, Roman Ridge, Accra on Tuesday, 15th May and Wednesday, 16th May, 2018.

The theme for the workshop was: “Modern Trends in Quality Standards and Quality Management; Featuring a Component on Ghana Nuclear Power Development”.

The workshop also evaluated Ghana’s readiness for the implementation of the Ghana Nuclear Power Programme and also assessed the progress made so far.

In his speech, the Board Chairman of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), Dr. Kwaku Aning, emphasized that the vision of Ghana harnessing nuclear energy to enhance its national development projects was conceived since the time of independence.

“Today, this vision is gaining momentum due to the periodic energy crises that the country has been experiencing.  It is refreshing to know that presently, the electricity supply is satisfactory.  However, let us not bask in the fleeting period of stable electrical energy accessibility lest we descend into a worse electricity crisis that can potentially derail our development efforts”, he added.

Mr. Stephen Adu of the Ghana Standards Authority delivered a presentation on Ghana’s Quality Control Infrastructure.  Dr. Charles Klutse spoke on the Current State of the Management System and Leadership Programme of the Ghana Nuclear Power Programme Organisation.

Participants were also taking through presentations on some Quality Control Best Practices in the World, with panel Discussion on Leadership and Quality Management in engineering infrastructure.

Closing the Workshop, the Ag. Executive Director of GhIE, Ing. Kwabena Agyei Agyepong praised the foresight of the Former President J.A. Kufuor for setting up the Prof. Adjei Bekoe Presidential Committee Chaired by Prof. Adzei Bekoe that culminated in the Cabinet decision of 2008 to include nuclear into the energy mix.

Ing. Agyepong added that since 2015, Ghana has been working with experts from the IAEA to develop a better understanding of Nuclear Power Infrastructure development geared towards generating electricity from Nuclear Power by the next 15 years.