The first Bidders’ Conference on the concession for the Private Sector Participation (PSP) in the electricity distribution business of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has been held in Accra.
The ECG PSP transaction is one of five activities under the ECG Financial and Operational Turnaround Project funded through the Ghana Power Compact.
The event, organized by the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA),was attended by over 100 people, comprising local and international investors, local financial institutions, trade associations, and government and regulatory institutions. It was a forum to discuss the structure of the ECG Concession and share ideas aimed at improving the process.
Launching the event, the Minister for Energy, Mr. Boakye Agyarko stressed the importance of reliable and available power supply for national development.
“There is no argument that an improved and efficiently managed power sector is key to unlocking the development potential of our dear country,” he said.
Mr. Agyarko added that “years of inadequate investment, inefficiencies within the utility, and a large stock of outstanding receivables, particularly in the distribution sector, have all conspired to make the organizations in the sector what they are today. As a nation, we should set our sights firmly on turning around the fortunes of this strategic sector.”
The Board Chair of MiDA, Prof Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu said the Bidders’ Conference was a major step towards meeting the objectives of the Compact II Programme.
She added that,“since the new Board was formed, we have been building on all the work that has been done so far including work on the process of identifying qualified private sector partners for ECG through a transparent and competitive process.”
In his welcome remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of MiDA, Ing Owura K. Sarfo said, “the ECG Financial and Operational Turnaround Project aims to strengthen the governance and management of ECG by bringing in an acceptable concessionaire to make investments designed to reduce technical, commercial, and collection losses and improve service quality.”
“MiDA continues to work together with all stakeholders on this journey of identifying the best qualified private sector partner for ECG. This partnership will transform the ECG in terms of technology in power distribution. Let us seize the opportunity together to improve the power situation in our dear country,” he added.
The Bidders’ Conference facilitated interaction between the shortlisted Applicants for the ECG Concession and potential local and international investors.
The Bidders also had an opportunity to tour selected ECG sites while in Ghana.
The Government of Ghana signed the Ghana Power Compact with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), an independent United States government foreign aid agency, on August 5, 2014.
The Ghana Power Compact provides Ghana a grant of Four Hundred and Ninety Eight Million, Two Hundred Thousand United States Dollars (US$498,200,000) to improve the performance of Ghana’s power sector to unlock the country’s economic potential, create jobs, and reduce poverty.
The Government of Ghana is committing at least US$37.4 million of its own money.
The major project under the Ghana Power Compact is the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) Financial and Operational Turnaround Project, which is designed to transform ECG into an efficient and financially strong institution through private sector participation (PSP). About US$351 million of the MCC grant is being invested in ECG.
The project seeks to bring about private sector participation in investments into, as well as the management and operation of, the ECG through a concession arrangement.
Under the concession a private partner will invest in ECG and improve its operations to reduce commercial and technical losses, reduce the frequency and duration of outages, introduce new equipment and technology, and reduce the vulnerability of the distribution system to theft and meter manipulation.
The Compact is being implemented by the Government of Ghana through the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA).
MiDA is a Ghana government agency created in 2006 by an Act of Parliament. The Authority has been mandated by the Government of Ghana to implement the Ghana Power Compact, which seeks to address the root causes of the current problem of unreliable power supply in the country.
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(Via: CitiFM Online Ghana)
