BOOT agreement fit for purpose, Government
Government remains committed to more investment in the energy sector
The Government of Ghana has assumed full ownership of the AMERI Power Plant.
This comes after an agreement between Government and AMERI was reached following an extended payment period from 60 to 70 months.
A statement issued by the Ministry of Energy and copied to GhanaWeb pointed that several activities had to be concluded before the takeover of the plant from the contractor to the Government of Ghana.
These activities, according to the ministry, include a condition survey of the equipment to confirm that it has been maintained in accordance with the Original Equipment Standards during the period of operation.
Deputy Minister for Energy, William Owireku Aidoo, delivering a speech at the handing over ceremony on January 20, 2022 said, “Based on the recommendations of an independent engineer contracted to conduct the condition survey, a punch list was subsequently drawn between Government and Ameri, pursuant to the terms of the original agreement."
“I am happy to announce that government is satisfied that the rectification works recommended have effectively been carried out by Ameri and that the plant at the end of the Build Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) agreement is fit for purpose,” the statement added.
The minister also reassured the people of the government’s commitment to providing sufficient and consistent power supply to citizens.
“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 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.
Touching on some other projects in the energy sector, Owireku Aidoo revealed that the Amandi Power Plant (200MW Twin City Energy Project) has been completed with commercial operation and dispatching power to the grid already achieved.
“This [Akufo-Addo] government will continue to pursue its agenda of ensuring that not only the lights remain on, but that they are stable and affordable,” the deputy minister assured.
Background of AMERI Plant
The Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) Agreement in 2015 between the Government of Ghana and Africa, Middle East Resources Investment for a fast-track turnkey power solution through the construction of a power plant, which was ratified by Parliament in March 2015, originally stipulated a 60-month payment period.
Subsequently, upon assuming office in 2017, the New Patriotic Party took the view that the required payments over the 60-month period was rather onerous on the public purse and took steps to renegotiate it in order to allow the state more room in meeting its payment obligations without default.
This, in December 2018 resulted in an agreement between Ghana and AMERI to extend the payment period from 60 to 72 months, with the further agreement that the title of the Ameri equipment would be transferred to the Government of Ghana upon completion of the extended term (i.e January 2022).
Ameri power plant