Speech By Mr. Fred Oware, CEO of Bui Power Authority on the Occasion of The River Diversion

at the Bui Dam Site on 2ND December 2008

Your Excellency the President of the Republic of Ghana

Your Excellency Ambassador of the Republic of China

Your Excellency Ambassador of the Ghana to Canada

Ministers of State

Members of Parliament

Nanamon

Director of Bui Power Authority

Directors and Management of Sinohydro Corporation of China

Friends from the Media

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

On the joint behalf of Bui Power Authority and Sinohydro Corporation, it is my honour to welcome you to this short but very important ceremony. I would also like to specially welcome the Senior Management Team of Sinohydro who have had to travel all the way from China to witness this event. With your kind permission, your Excellency, I would like to introduce the Chinese Delegation.

Today’s event known as “River Diversion” or “River Closure” is very significant because it marks the end of the preparatory works. This paves the way for the construction of the actual dam. It is interesting to note that a few days ago, these grounds were covered by part of the river which is now being diverted to flow through the Channel behind us. In a matter of days, the water which has been trapped at the dam site, shall all be pumped out for further geological test and ultimate construction to be carried out.

At this point, your Excellency, it is particularly significant to note that we are one month ahead of schedule and therefore feel confident that there is no turning back but rather moving forward to complete the project.

Under the guidance of the Board, the management of the Bui Power Authority is focusing on the maintenance of the highest quality control standards for our country to obtain best value for the money.   We are able to achieve this with the assistance of the French Project Consultants who have been on site continuously. We have also on various occasions, invited the Building and Road Research Institute, the Ghana Standards Board, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and the Volta River Authority to exercise peer review mandates to assure us that we remain  continually on the right track. This is something we shall continue to do, to improve on knowledge sharing and technology transfer. Continue