The Volta River Authority (VRA) has revealed plans to renovate the 160-megawatt Kpong Dam and its spillway gates located in Akuse, Eastern Region, marking the first significant rehabilitation since the dam’s construction four decades ago.
The announcement was made during a stakeholder engagement meeting with chiefs, assembly members, and community leaders from Akuse, Torgome, Fodzoku, Natriku, and surrounding areas.
This meeting served as a platform to address community concerns and discuss measures to manage both the positive and potential adverse impacts of the renovation.
Kwaku Wiafe, VRA’s Director of Engineering Services, emphasized that the primary objective of the renovation is to stabilize the dam’s rock-filled dyke, which has suffered erosion and wear due to years of wave action.
He stated, “Since the dam at Akuse only permits water from Akosombo to pass, it’s crucial that the spillway is prepared to accommodate this flow.
If it isn’t, we risk overtopping, making it essential that our spillways are reliable, especially considering climate change and other challenges.”
Wiafe highlighted that enhancing the spillway’s stability and reliability is vital for the dam’s safety, which in turn protects downstream communities and ensures the integrity of this critical asset for Ghana’s power supply.
Additionally, he announced plans to rehabilitate the deteriorating 10-kilometer road from Okwenya Junction to Akuse, upgrading it to a first-class road to better accommodate haulage trucks and other vehicles. This decision followed requests from VRA staff, local residents, and motorists.
Concerns were raised by some community members about the potential effects on fish species and water quality.
In response, Wiafe assured attendees that construction work would not lead to water pollution and would not disrupt fishing activities. He stated, “We will not use the fishing landing sites, and haulage trucks will adhere to a speed limit of 15 kilometers per hour to minimize disturbance.”
Regular watering of the road will be conducted to control dust during construction.
Emmanuel Darko Thompson, a civil engineer at VRA, noted that the project aims to restore, rather than replace, the corroded spillway gates and upstream dykes.
“We plan to use 150,000 cubic meters of rock to reinforce the dykes,” he explained, warning that failure of the dam’s dykes could have significant nationwide repercussions for productivity and economic growth.
Ibrahim Mahama, the assembly member for Akuse, urged the VRA to consider extending the road rehabilitation project to include Asutuare.
