US$400-million power project to be cited at Kpong

Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur have said that government would continue to encourage companies to take advantage of the investment climate in the country to invest in productive areas of the economy.

He made the statement when a delegation from Sumitomo Cooperation led by Nana Brew Butler, Chairman of Cen Power Holdings, the local partner of the cooperation, called on him at the Flagstaff House to update him on the status of the project.

Vice President Amissah-Arthur remarked that the government, in the spirit of encouraging more investments, was working hard to create economic stability to attract more organizations to invest in the energy sector, in view of the high demand for energy.

He assured investors that the measures put in place by the central bank were not to frustrate investors, but rather to halt the “dollarisation” of the economy.

Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur indicated that the energy ministry had instituted a medium term plan designed to increase the country’s energy capacity by 2016, and expressed the hope that the decision by Sumitomo to build a power plant would encourage other independent power producers to follow suit.

The project when completed would cost US$400-million and would be constructed at Kpone in the Greater Accra region, to contribute additional 340 megawatts of power into the national electricity grid.

The project, expected to commence in June this year, will include a fuel storage facility that will have the capacity to preserve fuel for three months when completed.

The Senior Managing Executive Officer of Sumitomo Corporation, Mr. Kenegae Michihiko stated that, Ghana was key on their agenda and also the centre of the company's operations in West Africa. He expressed his outfit’s willingness to double the power generation capacity in the sub-region.

Describing Ghana as the corporation’s ideal investment destination, given its good political stability and good investment environment, Mr. Michihiko said another purpose for the visit was to ascertain the governments commitment of the development of the project.