By Mildred Siabi-Mensah/ Faustina Mensah
Aboadze (WR), Oct. 02, GNA- Dr John Kissi, the Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Hydrological Authority, has called on stakeholders, including the government, to remain committed to safeguarding the two critical and valuable national energy assets in the Western Region.
Dr Kissi expressed the sentiments when he led a delegation of the Governing Board and auditors of the authority to assess the progress of work on the Aboadze Sea Defence project in the Western Region.
Giving a background, Dr Kissi told journalists that, already, some works (revetments) had already been done as part of the Aboadze Sea Defence project on both sides of the two thermal plants, to secure the beach.
However, a gap of about 550 metres was left to pave the way for another thermal plant, but the project did not materialise.
“And so, we are left with this gap that is exposing the Twin City Plant and the Aboadze Thermal Plants, which are at risk,” Dr Kissi said, adding, “About a month ago, the seawater was far back, But, in this short time, we noticed how much land we’ve lost to the sea due to sea erosion and tidal waves.”
Dr Kissi said, it had become critical, and another project was kick-started urgently, to quickly protect the two vital national energy assets which provide about 10 per cent of Ghana’s energy supply, stressing, “it’s critical that works begin as soon as possible.”
He added: “We need to act immediately to protect shorelines to prevent the Twin City Thermal Plant and the Aboadze Thermal Plant from being wiped away by tidal waves in future.”
He told journalists that the Authority recognised the significant investments the government had made in this phase two projects and other coastal protection works, but, however, it would need more funding to ensure the two plants were safe.
Dr Kissi reported that the Ghana Hydrology Fund, the government alone could not execute the projects and harped on the need for creative ways to rope in extra funding from stakeholders including corporate entities.
He condemned community members who mined sand and also picked boulders on sea defence walls to build their houses and indicated that such projects involved huge investments.
Coastal protection projects, he said, aimed at solving tidal waves and flooding and ultimately boosting the local economy along Ghana’s coastlines. Much
Mr. Kwesi Anim, the Governing Board Chair, suggested that Ghana’s economic infrastructure should be viewed as a business and that investors need to have the right business plans to make it viable and protect their assets.
“As a fund and an authority, what we want to do is to make sure we have sustainable financing. So, we don’t just go back to government. This is a business. That is one way of ensuring that these projects are sustainable because they are very expensive,” he said.
The Ghanaian population, he noted, consumed a lot of fish, hence the need to protect Ghana’s coastline from any threats, stressing “As a country, we need to do everything to tackle the coastal problems.”
Mrs Lucy Odoom, the Chairperson of the Audit Committee of the Authority, explained that the tour would help the delegation to understand and know the issues on the ground and appreciate the work of hydrologists in coastal protection and get value for money.
Mr Sackey Abraham, Engineer of XARA Developers, contractors of the multi-million-dollar sea defence project, told the delegation that, so far, revetments and breakwaters had been constructed with work about 71 per cent completed.
The Aboadze sea defence project, he added, had benefited the fishers by reducing the dangers of berthing, adding “they also appreciate what the project had achieved.”
GNA