The Japanese government is to provide a $38.3 million grant to Ghana to help improve power supply and promote fisheries in the country.
The first component of the grant, which amounts to $35.5 million, will be used to improve power supply to Accra Central.
Works under this project will include the construction and upgrading of the Graphic Road electricity sub-station and its interconnected sub-transmission lines into a bulk supply point (BSP).
When completed, the project will help to save about 21MW of power, ensure stable and reliable power supply to the capital city and ensure voltage improvement.
It will also improve efficiency by reducing the pressure on the Achimota and Mallam BSPs.
Fishing harbour
The remaining $2.8 million of the grant is expected to be used for the construction and expansion of the Sekondi Fishing Harbour.
The amount is an additional budget for the project, which was signed in August 2014.
This brings the total cost of the project to $17.6 million.
Agreement
At the signing ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration yesterday, the sector minister, Ms. Hanna Tetteh, said the agreement reinforced the strong relationship between Ghana and Japan over the years.
She stated that the grant was the fourth the Japanese government had provided to the country this year, adding that “Ghana has benefited from Japanese financial assistance in various forms for diverse projects which are aimed at ensuring the socio-economic development of the country and the improvement in the standard of living of the citizenry.”
Present at the ceremony was the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Ms Sherry Ayittey, who stated that the Sekondi Harbour project, when completed, would help introduce better management into the fisheries sector and also improve the use of technology in the fishing industry.
The Japanese Ambassador to Ghana, Kaoru Yoshimura, said the agreement would help open new pages of success and cooperation in the long bilateral relations between the two countries.
Source: Graphic