Kufuor leaves for energy talks in Benin

Accra, Feb. 13, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor left Accra on Tuesday for Benin to attend the inauguration of an energy interconnectivity project among Nigeria, Benin and Togo.

A statement signed by Mr Andrew Awuni, Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman, said President Kufuor's participation in the inauguration of the project was to enable him to conclude negotiations with Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo on the possibility of benefiting from the interconnectivity by way of extending energy supplies to Ghana.

"The two presidents discussed the deal to supply energy from Nigeria to Ghana on the sideline of the recent African Union (AU) Summit in Addis Ababa," it said.

Senior government officials accompanied President Kufuor. The energy interconnectivity follows an agreement between oil rich Nigeria on one hand and Benin and Togo on the other hand for the supply of 80 megawatts of energy to the two countries.

The statement explained that another possibility that President Kufuor would be looking at was the retrieval of 80 megawatts of energy, which Ghana supplied to Togo and Benin, in view of their new energy supply source.

"A Ghanaian team of experts is already in Cotonou, Benin, to meet its counterparts from the three countries to examine the technicalities of the arrangements."

In his State of Nation A ddress to Parliament last week, President Kufuor enumerated the various efforts that government was making to find a lasting solution to energy problem in the country. Key among the initiatives is the Ghana/Nigeria deal.

Other initiatives are a 300-megawatt plant in Tema, a 126-megawatt emergency plant and a 600-magawatt Ghanaian/Chinese joint venture. The President is expected back later in the day.

At the airport to see him off were Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama, Ministers of state, Inspector General of Police Patrick Acheampong and Chief of the Defence Staff, Lieutenant-General J.B. Dankwah.