President Akufo-Addo will today (November 29,2019) cut the sod for the much touted Pwalugu Multipurpose Dam in the Talensi District of the Upper East Region.
Residents have described the 750 million dollar project which is expected to be completed in 2024 as a game-changer.
Construction of the dam has been on the drawing board since independence and it has become imperative due to the annual floods and deaths that occur in areas that are within the flow-way of the Bagre Dam from upstream Burkina Faso.
According to NADMO officials of the Region, 7,488.94 hectares of farms were destroyed by floods whilst livestock were carried away in the waters in 2018.
When completed, the multipurpose Pwalugu dam will have an elevation of 165M near the Pwalugu Bridge on the White Volta River.
The project will also have a powerhouse consisting of two turbines. President Akufo-Addo is expected to perform the sod-cutting ceremony.
The Pwalugu Multipurpose dam comes with a twenty-five-thousand-hectare irrigation scheme the country’s biggest bulk so far, which will boost annual rice production by up to 117,000 tons and maize by up to 49,000 tons.
Included in the anticipated production boost are crops like tomatoes, sugar, sweet potato, sweet pepper, and onions.
The dam will also be a source of water supply to communities in the catchment area.
Aside from the thousands of jobs to be created for those who will be engaged to build the project, it will also have a solar component to balance hydro energy with solar power to enhance the reliability of power supply.
Among other benefits, the dam would reduce the cost of power distribution to the regions in the north while industrialization, modern commercial agriculture and value chain activities as well as the general socio-economic environment, would be given a boost.
Meanwhile, President Nana Addo will also cut another sod for the construction of affordable houses dubbed “Rock Estates Affordable Housing Project” in the Talensi district of the Upper East Region.
The affordable housing project is aimed at tackling the housing deficit the people in the region have been facing over the years.
