Ghana gets $330m financing boost for power expansion

The Abu Dhabi National Energy Company PJSC (TAQA) and the Volta River Authority (VRA), have jointly announced January 27, 2013 that they have completed the $330 million financing for the expansion of the Takoradi 2 power plant in Ghana.

The project expansion which is currently under construction is expected to be commissioned in 2015.

The $330 million project financing was provided by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and a consortium of international development finance institutions including the African Development Bank (AfDB), Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschafte, OPEC Fund for International Development and the Canada Climate Change Programme.

“We are proud to have brought so many respected lenders together for this strategic energy project,” Frank Perez, Executive Officer and TAQA’s Head of Power & Water said in a statement.

The expansion project, according to officials, is to convert the existing gas-fired plant into a combined cycle unit, increasing its output from 220 megawatts (MW) to approximately 330 MW without requiring additional fuel. And the extra energy will be sold to VRA under the terms of a revised 25-year power purchase agreement.

The Takoradi 2 plant which is Ghana’s first independent power project, was recently converted from primarily an oil-fired plant to one fuelled by natural gas as part of a considered effort within Ghana’s power generation industry towards cleaner-burning fuel.

It is owned by Takoradi International Company, a joint venture between the operator TAQA (90%) and the VRA (10%), the main generator and supplier of electricity in Ghana.

By Ekow Quandzie