Ghana Assumes Ownership Of ‘Controversial’ Ameri Power Plant After Paying US $510M

The Government of Ghana has completed the payment of the 250 Megawatts Ameri Power Plant procured from the UAE-based Africa & Middle East Resources Investment Group.

This makes the plant the bonafide property of the West African nation.

The power plant, which is on the wheel and currently in the western part of Ghana, will soon be wheeled to Anwomaso near Kumasi to stabilise the power supply in that part of the country.

The Ameri power plant was procured in 2015 by the erstwhile government when the West African nation was experiencing an erratic power supply due to a shortfall in electricity generation.

The plant cost US$510 million and it was to be managed by its owners for five years and later transferred to the Government of Ghana under the Build Own Operate and Transfer (BOOT) agreement.

The Ameri deal was one of the numbers of power deals signed under the past administration which generated public anger with the then opposition, the New Patriotic Party, accusing the then administration of ripping the nation.

After negotiations between the government and the Ameri Group, the latter waived over US$2 million of the cost of the plant.

Officials of the country’s Ministry of Energy, led by one of its Deputy Ministers, William Owuraku, on Thursday, January 20, 2022, were in Takoradi for the official handing over of the plant.

“I am happy to announce that the government is satisfied that the rectification works recommended have effectively been carried out by Ameri and that the plant, at the end of the BOOT agreement, is fit for purpose,” William Owuraku Aidoo stated.

He said the government is committed to providing consistent power to the people of Ghana.

“President Akufo-Addo’s government remains committed to a vision of a stable, robust, affordable power supply as key to industrial growth and the exigencies of the 21st-century living standards.

“We promised to keep the lights on, and under the leadership of Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, the Ministry of Energy is doing exactly that despite a few challenges,” the Deputy Minister added.

Source: https://energynewsafrica.com