5 July, 2011
The Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) is set to raise about USD 230 million this year from local and international financial markets to invest in the country’s electrical energy infrastructure. Under the initiative, which feeds into its long-term capital investment plan, GRIDCo will receive 80 million euros from French companies Coface Group and Societe Generale, in partnership with the SG-SSB Bank. Other collaborators are Korea’s EXIM Bank, which is contributing USD 70 million, the Cal Bank and the Standard Chartered Bank, which are providing USD 13 million and USD 25 million, respectively.The Korean funds, on the other hand, would be used to build a line from the Aboadze Thermal Plant through Prestea to Kumasi. In the case of the funds to be provided by the CAL Bank, the support will be pumped into the construction of a third bulk supply point in Accra to provide additional capacity to ease the increasing electricity load in the city, while funds from Standard Chartered Bank will be used for the acquisition of transformer spare parts and the construction of a sub-station at Teshie in Accra.