Tangoba Abayage
President Nana Akufo-Addo is expected to cut sod for the commencement of work on the Pwalugu multi-purpose dam.
The project is to take off in November 2019, in the Talensi District of the Upper East Region.
Upper East Regional Minister, Tangoba Abayage, announced this at the Upper East Regional Town Hall Meeting in Bolgatanga on Monday, September 30, 2019.
The Pwalugu multi-purpose dam is expected to solve many problems, including the perennial flooding of farms due to the over flow of water from the white volta and its tributaries anytime there is rain and also spilled water from the Bagre dam in Burkina-Faso.
“This single investment is expected to transform the agriculture and energy sectors with cascading effects on the general economy of the Upper East Region and the country as a whole,” she said.
It will help to address the issue of flooding and the water will now be channeled into sustainable irrigation for all year round farming and also produce electricity to cover many communities that are without electricity, the Minister added.
Discussions over the construction of the Pwalugu dam dates back to the 1990s, after some pre-feasibility studies on the possibility of a hydro and irrigation dam on the black and white volta basins.
In 2013, with financial and technical support from the World Bank and Agencé Francaisé de Development of France, the Volta River Authority initiated another feasibility study and also embark on an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment ahead of the construction.
BY Ebo Bruce-Quansah, Bolgatanga