AMERI power plant relocation contract yet to be signed – Energy Ministry responds to ACEP’s claims
AMERI power plant
The Energy Ministry has responded to claims by the Africa Centre for Energy Policy that the AMERI power plant relocation has been sole-sourced to Mytillenos SA at a cost of $35.6million dollars.
Read full articleContrary to the ACEP’s assertions, the ministry said no such contract had been signed yet, and thus cannot disclose the costs involved.
“The Ministry and its stakeholders are in discussions with the EPC Contractor; the Ministry has not yet signed any contract. Recently, the Minister for Energy on a similar request on the cost of the project in Parliament, responded that it would not be appropriate to disclose the cost at the moment since the contract is yet to be signed between the VRA and the EPC Contractor," a statement from the ministry said.
ACEP in its cautionary note to Energy Ministry stated that, the Volta River Authority is the entity, according to the contract, responsible for handling the transfer procedures.
But the Energy Ministry in its response stated that “Since the end of the BOOT agreement in January 2021, the Plant was still being maintained and preserved by Metka at an average monthly cost of US$150,000 to the company. VRA was unable to maintain and preserve the plant because VRA personnel were not running the plant with Metka during the term of the BOOT. VRA only monitored the operations of Metka.”
It also stated that after the condition assessment, the contractor accepted to undertake all rectification works through its approved subcontractor, Metka before the Title is transferred to the GoG.
On the reasons for the transfer of the plant, the Energy Ministry explained that initial studies undertaken by GRIDCo influenced its decision to relocate the plant to Kumasi.
“As far back as 10 years ago, GRIDCo did extensive studies on the national grid and concluded that a power plant needed to be located at Kumasi. This was necessary to strengthen the grid to help solve the chronic low voltage problem in that part of the country. On the expiration of the Ameri BOOT Contract in January 2021, GoG took the policy decision to relocate the Ameri plant to Kumasi based on the recommendations of the GRIDCo study.”
Read the statement below:
SSD/WA
