From Anwomaso with love
It is always a delight to pop down to Kumasi, and last week, a combination of official and personal engagements drew me there once more.
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Genser gas pipeline
On Wednesday morning, the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, was the Guest of Honour at a colourful commissioning ceremony of a 110-kilometre natural gas pipeline from Prestea in the Western Region to Anwomaso built by Genser Energy in collaboration with the GNPC.
This critical infrastructure will power the 250-megawatt K1TPP) and future plants (500MW AKSA, 330MW CENIT), marking a significant advancement in the country’s power sector and particularly strengthening power delivery in the middle and northern belts of the country.
Kumasi 1 Thermal Power Project (K1TPP)
The afternoon saw the commissioning of the K1TPP also at Anwomaso, by the President.
By way of background, the erstwhile Ameri power plant consisted of 25MW trailer-mounted TM2500 aero-derivative gas turbine units from General Electric. The plant was contracted under a Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) agreement between Ameri Energy Ltd and the Government of Ghana (GoG) during the tenure of former President Mahama. In 2022, the Plant was handed over to the Government of Ghana (GoG) and subsequently transferred to VRA, following the expiration of the BOOT agreement.
To achieve the objective of having a power enclave in the middle belt to enhance transmission line reliability and efficiency as contained in the outcome of the GRID studies done and published in 2014; and also, to limit the transportation payments on the WAPCo reverse flow line, government mandated the VRA to “decommission” the plants in Aboadze and relocate them to Anwomaso in the Ashanti Region. The project has been named the Kumasi 1 Thermal Power Project.
The project is being executed in two phases; the first phase commenced in May 2023 and involved the relocation of the first six (6) TM2500 units with a total generation capacity of 150MW.
The entire project involves the decommissioning, dismantling and reassembly of ten (10) trailer-mounted aero-derivative gas turbine units (GE TM2500 Units), the related 161kV switchyard, as well as the Balance of Plant equipment, from Aboadze in the Western Region to Kumasi. The relocated equipment includes turbine and generator assemblies, air filter assembly, exhaust assembly, control room, batteries, switchyard equipment, various power and control cables among others.
The VRA provided all the funds for the construction of this station, including land acquisition, permits and licences, preparation of Environmental and Social Impact Studies, Grid Impact Studies, civil works and electromechanical works.
Media storm
Unsurprisingly, elements in the NDC have raised quite a storm on traditional and social media platforms over the K1TPP commissioning, accusing this government of ‘shamelessly rebranding’ Ameri after all the noise it made over its acquisition under the NDC, and vindicating the Mahama government’s decision.
As I recall, the NPP’s opposition to the Ameri contract was with its terms, and as a responsible opposition, it raised legitimate questions. There is absolutely no shame in that. At the end of it all, the deal went ahead and it is now a state asset. Was the NPP, on assumption of power, supposed to throw them into the sea in a fit of moral pique? And if a need is found for it and it is used for same in the national interest, why not?
It is perfectly normal for an opposition party to loudly raise legitimate questions about public projects, whether on its essence or costs or both. The presidential jet, the Accra Conference Centre and Jubilee House are all cases in point. However, when eventually government has its way, as in most cases it does, and the project goes through, it becomes national property and the opposition, when it comes into office, has a duty to preserve it.
Renaming issues
It is laughable to suggest that Ameri was renamed out of spite. To reiterate, the plant now belongs to the state and is operated by VRA. Depending on the location of its thermal assets, VRA (and other IPPs) is in the nature of combining the name of the town where the plant is situated together with the sequence number to name the plant or if you like, generate the plant ID.
For example, some power plants in Kpong are named “Kpong Thermal Power Plant I” (KTPP); in Tema are named Tema Thermal Power Station PH. 1 (TT1PP); Tema Thermal Power Station PH. 2 (TT2PP); and those in Takoradi named Takoradi Thermal Power Station -Train 1 (T1), depicting the name of the town and the sequence of plant in terms of first to be established. It is that simple, really.
Gamechanger
Hitherto, our thermal generation plants have been sited on the coast or close to the coast. The Genser pipeline project is a major breakthrough for power stability and reliability in the middle and northern belt, providing the gas infrastructure for the K1TPP and other future plants in the region to dock in and boost power generation.
The two Anwomaso projects, together with those plants yet to come, promise to be a major gamechanger in opening up the middle and northern belts particularly for possible industrialisation.
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