WAAP, Liberia Discuss Mt. Coffee Hydro

The Secretariat of the West African Power Pool (WAPP), in collaboration with the Ministry of Lands, Mines and Energy and the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) convened a two day validation seminar on the rehabilitation of the 64MW Mount Coffee Hydropower Plant Facility.

Participants at the seminar validated Phase I reports on the Engineering Study  and Preparation of Bidding Documents prepared by Stanley Consultants Incorporated from the United States of Africa.

The seminar which was chaired by Mr. Amadou Diallo, SecretaryGeneral of the West Africa Power Pool, discussed among other things the Feasibility Study, Detailed Site Survey, Geotechnical Baseline Outline, Dam Safety, Dam Inspection and Design, including Scope of Supply.

During the meeting, the participants acknowledged that the work conducted by Stanley Consultants to date was in conformity with the adopted Terms of Reference and agreed with Implementation Schedule. While the LEC took the occasion to inform the meeting that in order to rapidly conclude the project preparation, the Government of Liberia had entered into a separate contract with Stanley Consultants.

Currently, the rehabilitation of the Mount Coffee Hydropower Plant has become a burning issue for the Government of Liberia which has the support of the international community in providing funding to jump start the activities leading to the restoration of electricity from the hydro.

The meeting took particular note that cost estimates  of the rehabilitation is US$178 million excluding substation, transmission line, access road, and service buildings. The estimated cost also did not include the Environmental and Social impact Assessment being carried out under separate contracts.

The presentation on the Design Report also recommended that the rehabilitation investments be made, especially regarding the Main Dam and Spillway, Forebay Dams, Intake Structure and Powerhouse. In order to avoid a re-occurrence of the 1990 breach, the Design Report further recommended the use of fuse-gates that had high discharge capacities and had the main objective of optimizing storage capacity and dam safety.

The seminar brought together participants from African Development Bank (AFDB), Kredietanstalt Weiderabauf (KWF) and Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) as well as the European Union Delegation to Liberia.

At the end of the seminar, the participants in particular expressed their profound gratitude to the People and Government of the Republic of Liberia, particularly to Her Excellency Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of the Republic of Liberia.

The participants also registered their apreciation to the WAPP Secretariat for organizing the meeting and coordinating the development of the project. The LEC Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Shahid Mohammed, took the occasion to make special commendation to the Secretary General of WAPP for his support to the turnaround of the electricity sub-sector of Liberia and prioritizing the accelerated development of the project.