The Pwalugu multipurpose dam project in Ghana is estimated to cost $1 billion.
The construction of a high-quality Multi-Purpose Dam is scheduled to begin in November of this
year, according to the story of the multipurpose dam irrigation project.
The dam's development, which will take place in Ghana's Upper East Region, would be the
largest investment any government has ever made in infrastructure expansion in the northern
region since the country's independence in 1957.
Located at the Pwalugu bridge on the White Volta River, the multipurpose Pwalugu dam
will have a maximum reservoir area of 350 kilometers and will serve a variety of purposes.
In addition, the project will include a powerhouse with two turbines with a combined capacity
of 60 megawatts and a continuous capacity of 16.5 megawatts, as well as a 15-kilometer
overhead line that will export power to an existing transmission line.
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The dam's construction is expected to take around three and a half years to complete.
The project will also include a 25,000-hectare irrigation plan, which will increase yearly
rice production by up to 117,000 tons and maize production by up to 49,000 tons in the
country, according to the World Bank.
Other plots are expected to have production booster crops such as tomatoes, sugar, sweet
potato, sweet pepper, and onions, among other things.
When completed, the project will act as a source of electricity for local populations
in the farming area, while also assisting in the improvement of irrigation farming in
the surrounding area.
The dam will also aid in the reduction of the cost of power distribution to the northern
regions of Ghana, while industrialization, modern commercial agriculture, value chain
activities, as well as the general socio-economic environment, will all benefit from the project's
construction.
A significant component of the project's success will be its ability to serve as a catalyst
for resolving perennial flooding in areas of northern Nigeria that are inside the flow
path of the Bagha dam from upstream Burkina Faso in 2018.
A total of 570 irrigation dams were scheduled for building in Ghana's three northern regions,
with the majority of them located in the Ashanti region.
In order to regulate water supplies and to even out floods and droughts, dams are being
built around the country, with building expected to continue beyond 2019.
This aids in the storage of water when there is more than enough and the use of water when
there is a shortage of water.
The development of a multipurpose dam and irrigation system is currently underway.
In 2018, VRA completed the feasibility study and moved on to the implementation phase.
The primary components of the project are a dam with an elevation of 165 meters near
the Pwalugu bridge on the White Volta River and a maximum reservoir area of 350 square
kilometers, and a powerhouse consisting of two turbines with a combined installed capacity
of 16 megawatts and a firm continuous capacity of 16.5 megawatts.
An irrigation plan consisting of a Weir and canal network with a height of 12 meters,
as well as main, primary, secondary, and tertiary canals for around 25,000 hectares of land.
According to the Ghanaian government, the project location is located on the white volta
River, approximately 16 kilometers east of the Pwalugu bridge on the main tamale Bolgatanga
route.
The white volta river and the dam site mark the border between the Upper East area and
the Northeast part of the country.
In order to achieve effective River Basin Management, the Pwalugu dam must be operated
in concert with the bad grade dam upstream on the White Volta River in Burkina Faso,
as well as with the acha Zumbo and palm dams downstream on the White Volta River in Ghana.
In addition to an earth and rockfill dam on the banks, the dam will be constructed with
a central roller compacted concrete core.
In addition to flood management, the project's benefits include irrigation, fisheries, and
power generation.
The main advantage of the 25,000-hectare irrigation plan will be that it would be the largest
in the country, which will be a significant benefit.
In the upper east and northeast regions, the program will have a positive impact on economic
activity.
Because it will increase the productivity of farming and attract large-scale commercial
farms, which will be supported by around 15,000 out grower farmers, it will be beneficial.
Increasing yearly rice production in the country by up to 117,000 tons and maize output by
up to 49,000 tons, respectively, has the potential to reduce imports of both commodities by 16
percent and 32 percent, according to the project's proponents.
Saving foreign exchange and also stabilizing the pricing of certain items on the domestic
market are two benefits of this strategy.
In addition to onions and tomatoes, sweet potatoes, sweet peppers, and watermelon are
among the crops that will profit from increased output.
The program will also serve as the foundation for the development of an agricultural business
to process the produce of the farms.
This program will aid in the implementation of the government's strategy of planting for
food and jobs, as well as the one area, one factory program.
Development of aquaculture and fisheries are two more potential benefits of the project.
Increasing Ghana's renewable energy capacity and helping the country achieve its obligations
under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change are two of the goals of
the hydropower component of the project.
UNFCC Ghana's goal is to increase renewable energy to 10% of total energy consumption
by 2030, up from less than 2% currently.
Today, the project will include a solar component, with solar energy serving as a supplement
to hydroelectricity in order to improve the reliability of the energy supply.
Aside from facilitating access to electricity in Ghana's northern region, the project's
electrical infrastructure would also improve the reliability of power delivered to Nedco,
the country's electricity distribution business, in the region.
During the wet season, the dam will also give protection from the perennial floods that
occur in the white volta basin.
It will also aid in the management of water overflow from the Bagger dam.
Property damage will be reduced as a result of this, and financial security will be improved.
52,000 people were affected by flooding in the area in 2018, which resulted in 34 deaths
and two individuals going missing.
Land and property were also damaged as a result of the fires.
With the signing of the Wailuku Multipurpose Dam in the talent sea district of the Upper
East region, the President of the Republic Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo officially launched
the project.
Originally conceived in the early 1960s, the $993 million project is being funded entirely
by the federal government and will be completed by 2020.
Consequently, the sword-cutting ritual was regarded as historic in nature.
When fully operational, the multipurpose dam will address three major issues: irrigation,
hydroelectric generation, and flood control, among others.
Chinese state-owned hydroelectric engineering and construction company Sinohydro is in charge
of the project, which is projected to be completed in around four years and two months.
It has also become necessary due to the annual floods and deaths that occur in the areas
that are within the flow path of the Bagha dam from upstream Burkina Faso.
The event was attended by Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and ministers of state, including
the Minister of Energy, Mr. John Peter Amewu, members of parliament, and representatives
from the metropolitan, municipal, and district chief executive levels.
Additionally, hundreds of citizens, including traditional rulers from both the Upper East
and the Northeast, attended the celebration.
These are the regions that are the primary beneficiaries of the initiative.
Furthermore, a Chinese delegation from Sinohydro, the Chinese state-owned hydropower engineering
and construction company that will be implementing the project, addressed a durbur to commemorate
the sword-cutting ceremony at Pwalugu Hydroelectric Power Station.
During his address to the nation, President Akufo Addo remarked that the project's start
was a fulfillment of his promise to the people of the area, which included, among other things,
addressing the annual flooding of the area and its disastrous consequences on the inhabitants.
This is in fulfillment of the promise made by the NPP government to the people that we
will not break our promises and that we will maintain them.
President Akufo Addo stated that the project would be the single largest investment ever
made by any government in the country's northern region, which the president referred to as
"amazing."
He stated that the government considered that infrastructure development was critical to
the transformation and development of the North, and that irrigation continued to be
the most important factor in guaranteeing food security in the region.
Furthermore, the President stated that the project was expected to improve the country's
annual rice production by around 117,000 tons, reduce rice imports by 16 percent, and contribute
to the expansion of the aquaculture sector.
In addition to other benefits, President Akufo Addo stated that when the dam is built, the
cost of power delivery to Ghana's northern areas will be reduced.
While industrialization, modern commercial agriculture, and value chain activities, as
well as the general socioeconomic environment, would all benefit from the project's completion,
he pointed out that it would also provide the much-needed impetus to the one village
one dam policy, the one district one factory policy, and the planting for food and jobs
initiative, among other things.
He claimed that approximately 2200 Ghanaians, both skilled and untrained, were likely to
get employment when the project's construction began.
According to Mr. Zhu Chen Yang, Vice President of the Chinese power company, his country
would continue to support Ghana in the development of infrastructure.
He also pledged the readiness of his country and company to adhere to all regulatory framework
guiding the successful completion of the project During a meeting with the building business,
the Minister of Energy, Mr. Peter Amewu, instructed them to closely comply to the project's local
content requirements, which means that citizens from the catchment region must be involved
in the project's construction.
He stated that it was for this reason that the Ministry of Energy devised a policy for
local content regulations in the power sector, which he described as follows: As a result,
he noted, the hydroelectric and solar power facilities would improve renewable energy
generation while also increasing the reliability of power supply to the northern electrical
distribution firm.
Tango is the most popular regional minister in the Upper East Region, according to Nedco.
President Muhammadu Buhari was hailed by Abby Asure and the Northeast Regional Minister,
Mr. Solomon Bowa, for following through on his promise to the people of the north, saying
that it will eventually bridge the gap between the North and South urban migration among
the youth in the North.
The traditional territory of the Overlord of the Man program is in the Northeastern
region.
Gu abdulai Na Bo har Gu abdulai Muhammad Sharika delivered a speech, which was read on his
behalf by the paramount chief of the traditional area of talent.
Others urged the government to put in place efficient measures to improve rice production
throughout the country's northern regions by assisting rice farmers in preparing their
crops for the project's launch on the international market.
The Overlord further stated that, once completed, the project would aid in the revitalization
of the Pilu tomato factory's electricity generation and the influx of additional funds into the
pockets of the unemployed who live in the catchment region.
Since the early 1960s, researchers have been studying the site of the Pilu Dam.
In the early 1990s, the Volta River Authority (V. Ara) undertook preliminary feasibility
studies on potential hydroelectric sites in the white blackened ot river basins, which
led to the establishment of the Volta River Authority.
The present project activities began in 2013 when VRA received financial assistance from
the agents Francaise to launch them.
Using technical assistance from the World Bank, France's development agency carried
out a feasibility study and environmental and social impact assessment in preparation
for the construction of a multipurpose dam and irrigation plan.
The VRA finished the study in 2018, and is now moving forward with the project's implementation
phase.
The project location is located on the white volta River in Ghana, approximately 16 kilometers
east of the Pwalugu bridge on the main tamale Bolgatanga road.
The project is funded by the Ghana Development Bank.
A powerhouse consisting of two Kaplan turbines with an installed capacity of 60 megawatts
and a solar power plant with a capacity of 50 megawatts would be constructed near the
pwalugu bridge on the White Volta River at an elevation of 168 meters above sea level.
A reservoir covering an area of 262 square kilometers would also be constructed.
Approximately 25,000 hectares of land would be covered by an irrigation plan that would
consist of a 20-meter-high water Weir and a canal network connected to it.
The irrigation plan, which will cover 25,000 hectares, would be the largest in the country
and will serve to increase economic activities in the upper east and northeast regions.
This project with its numerous benefits is really a ray of sunlight for Ghanaians in
so many sectors such as hydro power and agriculture.
Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.
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