Santerre Limited, an international infrastructure development company, has began taking detailed expressions of interest from multinational companies interested in participating in the development of a 200MW thermal power plant at Miotso in the Ningo-Prampram district of the Greater Accra Region.
Charles Hardeman, President and CEO of Santerre Limited, told reporters that the project is being developed as a combined cycle thermal power plant through the company’s subsidiary Santerre Electric Power Company Limited (SEPCO), which has been granted a Generation Licence by the Energy Commission to build and operate a 400MW Wholesale Electricity Supply Facility.
The company has also signed an agreement with the state-owned Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to develop and finance the plant as an Independent Power Producer. The site for the new power plant is close to the industrial hub of Tema — near the new 330kV Ghana Grid Company transmission line, the West African Gas Pipeline and the Tema Oil Refinery.
The Santerre Ghana power plant will initially supply 200MW of electricity to the national grid when completed, followed by a planned expansion to 400MW.
Santerre plans to issue full tenders in due course, with technical specifications – including a turnkey EPC contract through a competitive process. These will then be awarded and construction begin thereafter; the investment cost of the project is estimated at US$300m for the initial 200MW plant.
Ghana is currently experiencing a major power crisis and the company’s decision to expand the plant to 400MW is due to the high level of investor interest from various multinational companies operating in the USA, Spain, Italy, Turkey, China, South Korea, Germany and other countries.
This high level of interest in the project has necessitated a meticulous competitive process to fairly evaluate all offers from interested global multinational companies.
Commenting on the strategic global partner selection process, M. Hardeman – who is also the Managing Director of Santerre Electric Power Company said: “This represents a major step forward and we intend to select the best possible strategic global partners who are committed to our long-term goals of helping Ghana overcome its energy challenges.
Innovative
This innovative approach to securing effective power supply for the people of Ghana is a great example of what private capital can do to solve the power shortage problems. This important project will contribute to the provision of reliable power supply across Ghana and support continued development of the country.
“We are still receiving and evaluating offers from some of the world’s largest companies, which have expressed interest in taking equity stake or other participating interest in this project,” commented Prince Kassim Alubankudi, Country Director for SANTERRE Limited in Ghana.
“The level of investor interest in this greenfield project highlights the willingness of private companies to help policymakers address gaps in Ghana’s energy supply.”
The power plant is being developed and sponsored in cooperation with experienced local partner companies: ACEC Investments Limited, the Ghanaian incorporated subsidiary of India-based ACEC Group led by the presidential award-winning Colonel Raj Kalra (retired), an engineer and former Indian army official; and Petro-Electric Company Ghana Limited, the Ghanaian firm that initiated and conceptualised the project.
SANTERRE Limited is a US-based international infrastructure development company with wide experience in privately financed infrastructure developments worldwide, including the first Public Private Partnership (PPP) power projects in Malaysia and Indonesia, respectively. SANTERRE Limited leads businesses in all aspects of strategic planning, growth and business optimisation for complex products and services.
Source: B&FT Online
