WORK PROGRESSESON BUI HYDROELECTRIC POWER PROJECT (PAGE 22)

ON Friday, August 24, 2007, President John Agyekum Kufuor performed a symbolic sod-cutting ceremony for the commencement of the construction of the Bui Dam, also known as the Bui Hydroelectric Power Project (HPP), at the Bui Camp in the Tain District of the Brong Ahafo Region.
All manner of people, including bankers, administrators, farmers, engineers, schoolchildren, fishermen, Ministers of State, parliamentarians, traditional and religious leaders, witnessed the ceremony.
There was drumming and dancing by some selected groups, some of who sang “Aba mu awie”, meaning that the dream of the project had become a reality.
The project was in fulfilment of the 2000 campaign promise made by President Kufuor to the people of the Brong Ahafo Region that he would construct the Bui Dam which had remained on the drawing board since the 1920s.
Subsequent to his promise, the President used the occasion of the Africa-China Summit held in Beijing in November 2006, to hold discussions with the Chinese President, Hu Jintao, to seek funding for the project. The funds were part of the Chinese government’s promise to roll out a $5 billion package for Africa .
The 400 megawatt (MW) power project is considered to be the most technically and economically attractive hydro power site in Ghana after the Akosombo and the Kpong Hydro Power plants.
It has, therefore, been the subject of many studies, namely, a detailed one by J.S. Zhuk Hydroproject of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1966, a feasibility study by Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation (SMEC) of Australia in 1976 and another study by Coyne Bellier of France in 1995.
According to a technical brief by the Bui Power Authority (BPA), the feasibility study of 1995 was subsequently updated by Coyne Et Bellier in October 2006, and on that basis the project’s feasibility and economic viability were confirmed.
Primarily, the project is designed to generate power but it also has irrigation potential of about 30,000 hectares for agricultural production and also has the potential for ecotourism and fisheries

Project cost and plementation
The project is being financed through a hybrid credit facility comprising a concessional loan from the government of the People’s Republic of China and a buyer’s credit facility from the Export and Import Bank of China. The total cost of the project is about $630 million, including a provisional sum for irrigation, resettlement, employers’ permanent facilities, as well as project engineering and administration costs.
The government has entered into an engineering and construction contract with Sinohydro Corporation, a major Chinese dam construction firm of international repute that has constructed over 200 dams in China and around the world.
The company is involved in the construction of the three gorges dam project in China, which is considered to be the largest dam project in the world, with an installed capacity of 26,000MW.
The government has already made a contribution of $60 million to the project, which is currently under vigorous execution, with work progressing steadily.
According to the BPA Chief Executive Officer, Mr Fred Oware, if the momentum of the work was sustained, the project would be completed ahead of schedule or within the stipulated time of February 2012.
From the technical brief, detailed field investigations were completed in March 2008.
Environmental and social impact of the project
Based on the environmental and social impact assessments (ESIA) carried out by ERM consultants of the United Kingdom (UK) in October 2006, one of the key impacts is the resettlement of about 900 people living in seven villages within the Bui National Park.
Others are the loss of fauna and flora along the banks, social impact during the construction phase, that is, the influx of migrant workers, including health implications, cultural differences and potential tension, the need to protect the hippopotamus population, as well as increased hunting for displaced animals by the local people and the need to equip the Game and Wildlife Department for monitoring and supervision of the park.
The project has completed about 50 housing units to settle four out of the seven villages at the Jama resettlement site in the Bole District of the Northern Region. The four towns are Agbegikuro and Lucene villages in Bole and Brewohodi and Damsite villages in the Tain District of the Brong Ahafo Region.
A housing unit comprises two bedrooms, a kitchen and a bathroom.
The four villages are made up of two major tribes, namely, Ewes and Dargatis, who are engaged in farming, with the Ewes engaging in fishing, in addition to the farming activities.
Recently, the Minister of Energy, Mr Felix Owusu-Adjapong, visited the Jama resettlement site where the construction of the camps to resettle 48 households, made up of 216 people, have been completed and the camps are occupied by the people.
Construction work on a community centre and a nursery was progressing steadily at the site at the time of the minister’s visit, while a second KVIP toilet facility was almost completed. Two boleholes to provide potable water and a solar panel street lighting system had also been constructed.
The project has also provided two acres of farmland for each household, in addition to financial assistance for the cultivation of crops. Besides, each member of a household is being treated as a government worker with a monthly allowance of GH¢67.50 for the next eight months, according to officials of the BPA.
Benefits expected from the project
Apart from adding 400MW to the power generation capability of the system and the multiple potential for fisheries, tourism and irrigation, the project will also improve power supply to northern Ghana. It has the potential of exporting power to Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire and other countries within the West Africa Power Pool arrangement.
The project, according to the technical brief by the BPA, will also involve the construction of a nucleus township which will be the construction of a planned metropolis to be called the Bui City.
The Bui HPP is, therefore, envisaged to be the basis for a major economic and social transformation of the area.