WORK ON BUI POWER PROJECT PROGRESSES (PAGE 40)

CONSTRUCTION works on the Bui power project is progressing steadily in spite of the increase in the volume of water in the Black Volta due to recent downpour in the general area.
According to the authorities of the new dam, work on the project is on course and would be completed on schedule.
A visit by the Daily Graphic to the project site revealed that the project had shifted focus slightly from the construction of residential accommodation to the dam itself.
All things being equal, the course of the Black Volta on which the dam is being built would be diverted at the mouth of the gorge to enable massive construction work to be carried out by the end of this month (October), the authorities have stated.
Ghanaian workers, however, continue to agitate for better salaries and job security. The 800 Ghanaian workers have raised a lot of concerns about the unfair termination of their appointments, coupled with the reluctance of the Chinese employers to implement the collective bargaining agreement which was tabled recently by the Trades Union Congress (TUC).
With the arrival of Pakistani workers to beef up the Chinese workforce, the local workers have become very worried about job security.
Security at the workplace has improved as all the workers on site were seen appropriately dressed in conformity with safety requirements. With the introduction of an outboard motor coupled with adequate supply of safety jackets, the security on the river itself has also improved considerably.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, an assistant Civil Engineer at the Bui Power Authority (BPA), Mr Kwaku Sarpong Akosa, said work at the resettlement camp for the construction of a community centre and the nursery school had been completed.
He urged media practitioners to always cross-check their information with the BPA in order to publish the truth at all times instead of relying on hearsay.
Mr Akosa added that the state of the project currently required the support of all citizens to ensure its completion on schedule.
It will be recalled that on August 25, 2007, President J.A. Kufuor cut the sod to mark the commencement of the Bui power project.
The aim is to give practical expression to 100 years of planning and speculations over a project intended to provide 400 megawatts of hydro-electric power and employment to about 2,900 Ghanaians.
Apart from generating electricity, the site is also to be developed into Bui City, with facilities for irrigation, fisheries and eco-tourism.
The project is being funded by the Ghana government with a loan facility of $562 million from the People’s Republic of China and internal resources of $60 million.
It is in fulfilment of the campaign promise made by President Kufuor to the people of Brong Ahafo in 2000 to construct the Bui Dam, which had remained on the drawing board since the 1920s.