TEMA OSONOR POWER PROJECT
A 126 MW Thermal Power Plant project developed and sponsored by GECAD -Ghanaian private sector entrepreneurs.
“The Project Manager and Project Engineers were all trained at KNUST. Also the project recruited a high number of KNUST female engineering graduates some of whom have been poached by General Electric and Schlumberger. We also continue to offer internships, attachments and national service for KNUST students and graduates”. Fred Asamany, Managing Director, GECAD
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The Tema Osonor Power Project involves the design, construction and operation of a 126-Megawatt thermal power station at Tema near the Ghanaian capital, Accra. The Gas Turbine Generator is a General Electric Frame 9 and the primary fuels are natural gas with light crude oil and distillate fuel oil serving as secondary fuels. The gas will be transported to the project site from Nigeria through the West African gas Pipeline (WAGP) Station.
The project sponsor is GECAD, a Ghanaian engineering services company that is very active in power generation projects in Ghana and West Africa. GECAD was the EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) contractor for the 126 MW Tema Thermal 1 Power Plant (TT1PP) which was completed in February 2009 for the Volta River Authority, the main generation company wholly owned by the Government of Ghana. And this is the first time in our history that a Ghanaian company has practically accomplished such an engineering project in the energy sector –design, procurement and construction-in the country.
The Tema Osonor Power Project is a flagship project that clearly demonstrates Ghanaian private sector entrepreneurial ability in the development of major infrastructure assets. The special purpose project company that owns the plant is the Tema Osonor Plant Limited (TOPL).
The project, which will help diversify national power generation and reduce current generation deficit, is in line with the Ghanaian government’s Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) and the AfDB’s (African Development Bank) Country Strategy for Ghana. Both focus on private sector engagement and infrastructure development. The project is also aligned to the AfDB’s Private Sector Operations Strategy, as it will contribute to the construction of competitive infrastructure and support a business enabling environment in Ghana.
The project is expected to create from 150–200 skilled and unskilled jobs during the construction phase and another 100 during its commercial operation. The project company will build capacity and technical expertise in modern power generation plant management by providing appropriate training to local employees. This will help sustain long-term thermal power generation in Ghana while also encouraging indigenous private sector participation in this critical sector. Indeed the Project Manager and Project Engineers were all trained at KNUST. Also the project recruited a high number of KNUST female engineering graduates some of whom have been poached by General Electric and Schlumberger. We also continue to offer internships, attachments and national service for KNUST students and graduates.
Other project goals include the promotion of indigenous, investor-led power production in Ghana, the shifting of the burden of investment for power generation from the central government to the private sector, the building and sustaining of local capacity in the development and maintenance of power generation infrastructure, and the diversification of the power generation mix.
The construction started on March 15 2008, with the ground breaking, and as at mid February 2009 the main foundations and 95% of the civil works have been completed. The turbine accessory base and the fin fan coolers have been installed; moreover 95% of the assets and equipment required to complete the project have arrived at the project site in Tema, Ghana.
The total cost of the project is estimated at US$ 140 million, to be financed through an equity injection of US$44 million and senior loans of US$96 million from the AfDB, the Energy Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF) and the Entrepreneurial Development Bank of the Netherlands (FMO), which will also provide a US$ 10 million mezzanine (unsecured) loan. The African Development Bank Group’s Board of Governors on Tuesday 15 Oct. 2008 in Tunis, approved a US$ 32 million private sector loan to Tema Osonor Plant Limited. The project has, however, not reached financial closure and there is an immediate funding requirement of $35million to keep construction on track to achieve commercial operations by the fourth quarter of 2009.
For more information on GECAD click here.