President of the Millar Institute for Transdisciplinary and Cultural Studies, Prof. David Millar says his assessment of the Pwalugu Multi-Purpose Dam project revealed that the design of the project has been revised and the size reduced.
This, the educationist said, will automatically lower the cost of the project.
“if you look at the documents, the initial design was revised and the dam was reduced in size. And once you reduce the dams size, the design and cost and everything go down. It was reduced by 5 meters,” he stated.
When president Nana Akufo-Addo cut sod in November 2019 for its construction, it was estimated to cost the state about US$993 million.
Since that ceremonial event, however, not much work has been done on the project and the contractor has left site.
Yet, it has been revealed that at least close to US$12 million has been paid to the contractor, Chinapower, a revelation that has sparked public outcry.
The Minority side of the Mines and Energy Committee Committee over the weekend visited the site to ascertain whether there was any merit for the payment.
But after assessing the site and speaking to residents, Ranking Member on the committee, John Jinapor, who led the team, described the payment as a waste of state resources and indicated that his side will push for the retrieval of the monies paid.
Speaking in an interview on Accra-based Joy FM, Prof. Millar, who led the public consultation on the environmental impact of the project in 2021, said it has been reduced in size by 5 meters.
He also believes the amount of money paid so far is more than the almost US$12 million.
