The Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) has initiated procurement processes for its ambitious Eastern Corridor Transmission Project, a $353 million investment aimed at expanding and strengthening the country’s electricity transmission network.
At the same time, the company is grappling with mounting threats from illegal mining activities that risk undermining its infrastructure.
Director of Engineering, Nicholina Yembilah, announced the development at a press briefing, explaining that the project will extend along a 161kV transmission line from Asebe through Boho, Kajeibi, Salaga, and Banda in Ghana’s Eastern Corridor.
It will also involve the expansion of critical substations and the construction of new ones to improve reliability and meet growing demand.
“These projects are not cheap projects; they are very expensive projects,” Ms. Yembilah said.
“We have prepared high-level cost estimates and submitted them to the Ministry of Energy. The government has directed us to begin procurement, with the project expected to cost about $353 million.”
The project, which will be carried out in phases, has now been handed to GRIDCo’s Project Implementation Unit, which manages donor-funded ventures.
A request for expression of interest is being prepared to select consultants who will undertake feasibility, environmental, and social impact studies.
Studies and funding requirements
Ms. Yembilah stressed that before loans can be secured, international lenders such as the World Bank, the African Development Bank (AfDB), and Agence Française de Développement (AFD) will require proof of responsible planning.
“The feasibility study will give us the true cost of the project, with high-level designs, system layouts, and how to safely evacuate the power. But equally important are the environmental and social studies, especially the resettlement action plans, because transmission projects often affect homes and communities,” she explained.
She added that funding agencies insist on clear evidence of social responsibility before approving financing. This includes compensation plans for households displaced by transmission corridors.
Timeline and early interventions
According to GRIDCo, the full project is unlikely to commence until 2027 due to the complexity of the required studies, which could take a year or more, as well as clearance procedures under the Public Financial Management Act.
“In the meantime, smaller interventions are being considered to bridge immediate gaps,” Ms. Yembilah said.
“At the Kpeve Substation, for instance, plans are underway to install a transformer already on site, even before the larger project begins.”
Galamsey threats to infrastructure
Even as GRIDCo looks ahead to the Eastern Corridor expansion, the company says its immediate challenge is the threat posed by illegal mining—popularly known as galamsey—to its transmission lines.
At the same briefing, Acting Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Engineering and Operations, Frank Otchere, revealed that miners are encroaching dangerously close to transmission tower foundations, weakening their structural integrity.
“The activities of illegal miners are directly threatening the safety of our transmission lines,” Mr. Otchere warned.
“These towers are designed with precision engineering to withstand enormous weight and pressure, but once their foundations are tampered with, collapse becomes a real possibility.”
He added that GRIDCo maintenance teams now face violent attacks in some areas.
“Unfortunately, there are some locations where, when our maintenance teams go there, they get shot at. Some of them have had to run away. This situation has made it impossible for GRIDCo to carry out basic operations in certain places without security protection.”
Appeal for national security intervention
Mr. Otchere called for urgent national security support to protect transmission corridors from galamsey operators, stressing that the collapse of even one tower could disrupt electricity supply nationwide and put lives at risk.
“We cannot continue to risk our staff without additional protection. This is beyond GRIDCo’s control and requires coordinated security action at the national level,” he said.
Balancing today’s threats with tomorrow’s needs
GRIDCo finds itself balancing the urgent need to protect its existing infrastructure against illegal mining with the longer-term vision of expanding Ghana’s transmission capacity.
While the Eastern Corridor project promises to boost power delivery and economic growth, company officials maintain that its success depends on securing the grid against ongoing encroachment.
“Without urgent protection of our transmission corridors, the nation could face power crises worse than anything we have seen before,” Mr. Otchere cautioned.
