Pwalugu dam to be largest single investment in northern Ghana – Bawumia
The Vice President of the Republic, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has indicated that the construction of the Pwalugu dam will be the single largest investment made by any government in the Northern part of Ghana since independence.
The project when completed is expected to boost the production of rice and other crops by up to 117,000 tonnes per year.
Addressing a gathering at the 40-day Adua of the late Upper West Regional Chief Imam, Alhaji Yakubu Issahaku at Wa, Dr. Bawumia stressed that “it is government’s objective to end the perennial flooding that occurs as a result of the Bagre Dam in Burkina Faso while providing irrigation and hydro power for the people of Northern Ghana”.
Vice President Bawumia informed the chiefs and people of Wa that preparations for the construction of the dam are underway.
“I am happy to announce that formal groundbreaking ceremony for construction works to begin on the multipurpose dam at Pwalugu in the Upper East region is expected to take place in November,” he said excitedly.
He noted “Construction of the dam, which has been on the drawing board since independence, has become imperative due to the annual floods and deaths that occur in the areas that are within the flow-way of the Bagre Dam from upstream Burkina Faso”.
He revealed that the project when completed, will have an elevation of 165M near the Pwalugu Bridge on the White Volta River and with a maximum reservoir area of 350KM2.
“The project will also have a powerhouse consisting of two turbines with 60MW of installed capacity and 16.5MW of firm continuous capacity as well as, a 15KM overhead line for export of power to an existing transmission line, ” he said.
The dam will also come with a twenty five thousand-hectare irrigation scheme— the country’s biggest so far and almost double the 12,980 hectares of land under irrigation in Ghana.
The dam will also be a source of water supply to communities in the catchment area.
“Among other benefits, the completed dam would reduce the cost of power distribution to the northern regions of Ghana while industrialisation, modern commercial agriculture and value chain activities as well as the general socio-economic environment, would be given a push,” the Vice President iterated.