- The multipurpose dam will have an elevation of 165M near the Pwalugu Bridge on the White Volta River and with a maximum reservoir area of 350KM2.
- The project will have a powerhouse consisting of two turbines with 60MW of installed capacity.
- A 15KM overhead line for export of power to an existing transmission line.
Upper East Regional Minister Paulina Abayage has announced the commitment of government to commence the construction of the Pwalugu Multipurpose Dam in the Talensi District of the Upper East Region. Government is expected to provide about 700 million US dollars to completely construct the dam.
Mrs Paulina Abayage added that a series of social and environmental studies to assess the possible impacts of the project on their livelihoods are being conducted by Sinohydro, a state owned Chinese company, to mitigation measures. Construction of the dam is set to start next month.
Construction of the dam, which has been on the drawing board since independence, has become imperative due to the annual floods and deaths that occur in the areas caused by the upstream flow-way of the Bagre Dam from Burkina Faso.
The project also includes a twenty-five thousand-hectare irrigation scheme— the country’s biggest bulk so far, according to experts— which will boost annual rice production by up to 117,000 tonnes and maize by up to 49,000 tonnes in Ghana. Included in the anticipated production boost are crops like tomatoes, sugar, sweet potato, sweet pepper, and onions.
The dam will also be a source of water supply to communities in the catchment area.
Aside the thousands of jobs to be created for those who will be engaged to build the project, it will serve to lower the cost of electricity in the region.
Ghana has total installed capacity of around 2700MW. 50% percent of installed capacity comes from hydropower installations, with the rest coming from thermal plants burning Natural Gas (NG), Light Crude Oil (LCO), or diesel.
Related news: Ghana is developing a 400Kw waste to power plant.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
