By Godwill Arthur-Mensah,GNA
Accra, Oct.30, GNA - Cabinet has approved a US$103 million credit facility for electrification projects in 582 communities in five regions.
The electrification project was an agreement between the Government of Ghana, through the Energy Ministry, and the China International Water and Electric Corporation.
The Information Minister, Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, announced this at the mid-week media briefing in Accra on Wednesday.
He said Cabinet had given approval for the projects to be undertaken in the Ashanti, Bono, Eastern, Volta and Western regions, which is phase two of the initial 1,033 communities.
The phase one project, he said, was earmarked to connect 495 communities in 15 districts of the Ashanti, Eastern, Volta and Western Regions, which is about 90 per cent complete with 441 communities already connected to the national grid.
The Minister said the money for phase two would be used to finance the supply and reception of electrical materials and equipment for the electrification projects in those communities.
The agreement is part of government’s National Electrification Scheme since 1990, which is aimed at reducing poverty, especially in rural areas, increase the overall socio-economic development of the country and enhance the activities in other sectors of the economy such as Agriculture, Health, Education and Tourism.
The scope of the project includes design, manufacture, delivery, installation, testing and commissioning, as well as handing over of the electrification project to the beneficiary communities, Mr Oppong Nkrumah stated.
The project is to be completed within six months from the date of commencement.
The Minister was of the conviction that, the scheme would also create jobs in the rural areas, reduce the rate of rural-urban migration and contribute significantly towards the achievement of the universal access to electricity, which Ghana has targeted a minimum of 90% by 2020.
GNA
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