Chinese Engineers from the Hunan Group has yesterday 14th December 2016 formally handed over the 2.2 Megawatt mini hydro dam to the Government of Sierra Leone.
The handing over followed the completion of all civil and mechanical works on the dam while the transmission and distribution phase (which will ensure power reaches the homes of consumers) would be completed in due course.
The Charlotte Hydro would mainly serve Regent, Grafton and communities along the new Regent/Grafton Road. Apart from increasing access to energy, it is expected that the project will help reduce “technical” loses – a problem that has continued to affect the revenue generation capacity of EDSA.
The Charlotte Hydro Dam was started in April 2012 and after the Ebola outbreak in 2014 the project was essentially aligned to become part of the President’s Post-Ebola Recovery programme in the energy sector. By 2017, the sector is expected to double electricity generation from 75 to 150 megawatts while also increasing access to power from 125,000 to 250,000 households in the same year.
Presiding over this phenomenal transformation in the energy sector is former Ambassador to Nigeria, Henry Macauley who said Sierra Leone cannot afford to lose out on providing clean energy for it’s people. The Minister has recently received on behalf of the government two completed hydro dams in Makali and Port Loko.
Present at the handing over ceremony yesterday was the Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone, Wu Peng who believed the project further solidifies Sierra Leone/China ties.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Energy has also earlier discussed an agreement for the 160 Megawatts expansion of the Bekongor/Dodo Hydro Electric Project in the Eastern Region. According to the agreement, the project will be completed in 35 months and would be tied to a multi million dollar transmission network improvement project for Bo and Kenema.
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