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The first of three units of the Bui Hydroelectric Power Project came on stream yesterday to add 133 megawatts (MW) of power to the national grid. The remaining two units are expected to be completed by the end of the year to bring the total power generated from the Bui Generating Station to 400 MW. The main components of the project are a roller compacted gravity dam incorporating a five-bay spillway, a power house at the toe of the dam, two rock-fill saddle dams, a switch yard, 238 kilometres of transmission lines and a permanent bridge downstream of the dam. The project was conceived by Ghana's first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, in the 1960s and initiated by former President John Agyekum Kufuor in April 2008. It is being financed by the governments of Ghana and China. While the Chinese government is contributing 90 per cent of the funding through the Export and Import (EXIM) Bank of China, the Ghanaian government is taking care of the remaining 10 per cent. So far, $700 million of the total cost of $800 million has been spent on the project. The Sinohydro Corporation of China is the contractor on the project, while the Bui Power Authority (BPA) is the representative of the government. In his inauguration address, the President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, said the 133 MW from the Bui Generation Station would significantly help address the current electricity challenge facing the country. He expressed the hope that the project would be completed on schedule to integrate the entire 400 MW into the national grid by the end of the year. Apart from being the power house, President Mahama said the dam would also supply water for the irrigation of 3,000 hectares of land. He said the project was an illustration of what Ghanaians could do as a people if they discarded their political differences in the interest of the nation. He thanked the 1,216 people who were resettled due to the project and assured them of the government's commitment to settle their outstanding compensation and other issues. Speaking generally on the country's electricity situation, the President said the nation's power demand increased by about 10 per cent annually due to economic growth. As a result, he said, the country needed to generate an additional 200 MW every year. He said the government had, since 2009, increased the country's installed electricity capacity from 1,810 to 2,576 MW. President Mahama affirmed the government's resolve to double the power installed capacity to 5,000MW by 2016 to ensure sustainable energy to make the country a net exporter of electricity. The President also inaugurated the Kintampo Sub-station that would serve as the point of integration of power from the Bui Hydroelectric Power Project into the national grid. The sub-station is also expected to serve as the future interconnection point for the proposed 330 kilo volts line from Kumasi to Bolgatanga. The Minister of Energy and Petroleum, Mr Emmanuel Kofi Buah, said stakeholders in the energy sector were committed to generating more electricity to ensure energy sustainability in the country. The Chief Executive Officer of the BPA, Mr Jabesh Amissah-Arthur, commended Sinohydro for the urgency it demonstrated in the execution of the project and expressed his conviction that the project would be completed on schedule. The Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Gong Jian Zhong, said the project would further strengthen the cooperation between Ghana and China and promised that the Chinese Government would continue to support Ghana with funds and technology. The Vice-President of Sinohydro, Mr Zeng Xing Liang, said the company was committed to completing the project on schedule.