Ghana’s Cabinet approves US $700m for Pwalugu dam project

The government of Ghana has approved US
$700m for the construction of a multipurpose dam at Pwalugu in the Talensi
District of the Upper East Region.

Upper East Regional Minister, Paulina Patience Abayage,
said the dam will mitigate the perennial flooding in the area caused by
the annual spillage of excess water from the Bagre Dam in neighbouring Burkina
Faso.

 “Cabinet has
approved that we have the Pwalugu dam and we have a lot of interest groups including
the African Development Bank and the vice-president and president are committed
to it so it is sure to happen. Before the end of the year we will cut the sod
to start work,” said Mrs Abayage.

The proposed multipurpose dam at Pwalugu will
benefit the region’s population in terms of irrigation development and flood
management as well as power generation. Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia
will be in charge of the project.

Mrs Abayage added that a series of social and
environmental studies to assess the possible impacts of the project on their
livelihoods are being conducted by Sinohydro,
a Chinese company, to mitigation measures.

The multipurpose Bagre Dam on the White Volta is
located near Bagré village in Burkina Faso. It is normally opened when it
reaches its maximum level of 235 metres. The excess water volumes are spilled
by SONABEL, the power utility authority of Burkina Faso to prevent the dam from
possible damage.

In September 2018, Ghana and Burkina Faso began a high-level discussion to find a lasting solution to the spillage as it causes flooding in many local communities and destroys lives and properties, including farmlands, before finally finding its way into the Black and White Volta rivers. https://constructionreviewonline.com/2019/02/ghanas-cabinet-approves-us-700m-for-pwalugu-dam-project/