Bagre Dam spillage: Speed up construction of Pwalugu Dam, say CSOs
The civil society organisations are hopeful that the completion of the Pwalugu Dam will lessen the plight of residents during floods
Civil society organisations in the Upper East Region are calling on the government to fast-track work on the construction of the multipurpose Pwalugu Dam.
The CSOs believe this will help lessen the plight of residents in northern Ghana from the annual spillage of excess water from the Bagre Dam in Burkina Faso.
Speaking on Asaase Radio’s Candid Voice on Sunday (29 August) with Benjamin Offei-Addo, the executive director of Basic Ideas for Rural Development and Sustainability (BIRDS) Ghana, Saeed Jafar, said: “Not so much work has been done at the site in terms of trying to construct this particular dam.
More speed
“What we are expecting to see is the very vigorous start-up in terms of the level of speed at which the work would have been done.”
He added: “I believe that His Excellency the President is a man of his word and that he really means it when he says he is going to do it.”
At least 34 people lost their lives following flooding caused by heavy rains and spillage from the Bagre Dam in September 2018.
Background
On 29 November 2019, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo cut the sod for construction of the Pwalugu multipurpose dam project.
At an estimated cost of US$993 million, the Pwalugu project is the single largest investment ever made in the northern part of Ghana. It will consist of a hydro-solar hybrid system using 60MW hydro power and 50 MW solar power.
The two technologies will complement each other, providing reliable and stable electricity supply to the national grid. The project will also provide an irrigation scheme covering an area of 25,000 hectares and improve water supply to northern parts of the country.
In addition, the multipurpose dam will control the perennial flooding in the Northern regions caused by heavy rains and spillage from the Bagre Dam. It is expected to be completed within three years.
Fred Dzakpata
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