Karpower, Ghana’s electricity generating barge has finally made the permanent journey to the port city of Takoradi.
The power barge arrived yesterday at the shores of Takoradi from Tema. This move which was revealed by the Finance Minister Ken Ofori Attah during his mid-year budget review, is to get the power generating barge near to the gas it requires for its operations.
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The barge was procured by the erstwhile Mahama administration and was a subject of controversy when the cost of the plant was deemed to be exorbitant.
An agreement last year for Ghana to outrightly buy the ship raised eyebrows and eventually got the then minister of Energy, Hon. Boakye Agyarko fired. Subsequently, a final agreement was reached for the country to extend the contract for a further 10 years, which the government says was negotiated to give value for money.
KARPOWER DEAL
In December 2015, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, then running mate to Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, said it “made no sense” for government to secure the power barge as an emergency solution to the power crisis, explaining that the deal did not give the country value for money.
The 225 megawatts power barge docked at the Tema Port in December 2015, to augment the shortfall in power supply at the time.
Per Dr. Bawumia’s analysis, “A 225 megawatts plant like the Karpower Plant that we are renting, will cost some 225 million dollars if we wanted to purchase it; and we will own it. Under the new Karpower deal, we will pay for the power from the barge for the next ten years whether we use it or not.
Source: nsemwoha.com
