The Volta River Authority (VRA), has announced the renovation of the 160-megawatt hydroelectric Kpong Dam and spillway gates in Akuse in the Eastern Region, after more than 40 years of its construction.

The announcement was made at a stakeholders’ engagement meeting that included chiefs, assembly members, and opinion leaders from Akuse, Torgome, Fodzoku, Natriku, and surrounding areas.

The meeting, which discussed the implications of the project, aimed to elicit ideas from the communities about their concerns and ways to mitigate the project’s potential positive and negative impacts.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Kwaku Wiafe, VRA’s Director of Engineering Services, explained the goal of engaging stakeholders and community members, saying, it was meant to inform them about the planned Kpong Dam restoration project.

He explained that the project aimed to rehabilitate the dyke because the dam was rock-filled.

Through the action of water waves on the rocks over 40 years, some of them had been displaced along the entire length.

He stated that they initially intended to repair it, but they soon realized that adding a fresh layer of rocks would transform it into a new dam, extending its lifespan.

“Since the dam at Akuse only permits water from Akosombo to pass and if the water is coming from Akosombo, the spillway must be prepared to allow it to pass, otherwise it will overtop it, which is why we must ensure that our spillways are extremely dependable in light of climate change and other issues,” he said.

He added that “So the reliability of the spillways is critical to the dam’s safety, and by improving the stability of the dyke and the reliability of the spillways, the overall safety of the dam is enhanced, which goes a long way towards protecting both downstream communities and ensuring that the asset’s integrity is maintained so that Ghanaians can continue to benefit from a reliable power supply.”

In addition, the director said that VRA was also going to rehabilitate the deplorable 10-kilometre road from Okwenya Junction to Akuse for haulage trucks and other motor vehicles.

He mentioned that this decision came after agitation from both VRA staff, the natives of Akuse, and other motorists. The road would be improved into a first-class road.

Some of the stakeholders raised concerns about some fish species going extinct and potential water pollution but in response, Mr. Wiafe explained that the way and manner the work was going to be done would not cause water pollution.

It would not also affect fishing because they were not going to use the fishing landing site, and also those that haulage trucks would not be allowed to go beyond 15 kilometres per hour speed limit.

The road would be watered regularly to suppress dust.

Mr. Emmanuel Darko Thompson, a civil engineer at VRA, stated in a presentation that they intended to restore the upstream dykes as well as the spillway gate.

He noted that the objective was not to replace the gate, but rather to restore it, particularly the corroded gates.

He mentioned that they had planned to restore the dykes with 150,000 cubic meters of rocks.

“If we don’t repair the dam’s dykes and it collapses, it will impact everyone in the nation as well as productivity and economic growth,” he added.

Mr. Ibrahim Mahama, the assembly member for Akuse, urged the VRA to extend the road restoration project to Asutuare.