JICA hands over electricity substation to ECG
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has handed over a 33/11 KV substation valued at GH¢2.4 million to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) Training Centre in Tema.
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The substation which was constructed under the technical cooperation project dubbed: "Electrical Engineers Training for African Countries," is to be used in the training of ECG engineers and others from the West African sub-region.
The substation is the final equipment to be handed over to the ECG under the cooperation agreement signed between JICA and the Ministry of Power on September 29, 2011.
Training
At a ceremony to hand over the substation, a Senior Representative at JICA, Mr Norihito Yonebayashi, said he was hopeful the substation would be put to good use in training ECG engineers and others from the West African sub-region as planned.
Under the Electrical Engineers Training for African Countries project, he said, JICA despatched seven experts to the training centre to develop new training courses for engineers and technicians, while seven technical instructors of the centre have been sent to Japan for training.
As of February 2016, he noted that a total of 66 engineers and technicians from ECG and 12 technicians from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Gambia had benefited from training on the project.
Support from JICA
On behalf of the ECG, the General Manager of the training centre, Dr Geoffrey Y. Marfo, expressed appreciation to JICA and the government of Japan for the support.
He said the provision of the equipment and enhancement of capacity had transformed the centre into an excellent one.
He recalled the support given by JICA for the extension of power to Bekwai and surrounding areas and Axim.
"Currently JICA is assisting ECG and GRIDCO to provide the fourth bulk supply point in Accra (near the Graphic Road) to realise reliable supply to the Central Business District," he said.