We’ll terminate Pwalugu Dam contract – Agric Minister

The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku has said government intends to terminate the contract awarded for construction of the Pwalugu Dam.
The Minister announced this during an interaction with journalists on Wednesday, January 29 after a three-day tour of various departments and agencies under the ministry.
In 2019, a contract of $993 million was awarded for the construction of the Pwalugu multipurpose dam in the Talensi District of the Upper East Region.
The project was mainly to absorb water from the Bagre dam spillage to address the perennial flooding up north, and boost irrigation. The project was expected to have a hydro-solar hybrid system with 60 MW of hydropower and 50 MW of solar power.
After the expiration of the proposed 2024 scheduled completion, the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority – GIDA revealed that a total of $12 million dollars has been spent on mobilisation and project site development, while the actual construction of the Dam has not yet begun.
Speaking on government’s plan for the project, the Agric Minister, Eric Opoku says “what we will do is to terminate that contract immediately. We’ll terminate the Pwalugu contract, look for a contractor, look for funding, and then immediately ensure execution of the contract.
When the Minister’s attention was drawn to a potential judgment debt if the contract is cancelled, he assured that due diligence will be done in the cancellation process.
“Anyway, before we terminate, we’ll refer it to the Attorney General’s department for his advice. But we are prepared to make sure that the Pwalugu project is executed. And I can assure you that it is going to be John Mahama’s signature project in the North” he assured.