The residents of Central province and the nation’s capital Port Moresby should soon receive uninterrupted power supply from the Edevu Hydro Project in the upper Brown River in the Hiri Koiari district of Central province as the massive hydro dam prepares to come on line.
This after the Prime Minister (PM) James Marape pushed the button to flood the valley floor with water to signify the final stages before the dam becomes operational.
The significant ceremony took place on Friday 21st April at Edevu and was witnessed by the project developer, the landowners, and the provincial government and national government delegates. The new massive hydro plant, which was built from private investments from Chinese owned company- PNG Hydro Development Ltd, will supply 54megawatt of power to the Port Moresby power grid and from there it will be distributed to Central province, as per the arrangement.
PM James Marape thanked the company for having confidence in Papua New Guinea (PNG) to set up a big operation like this dam to supply energy to the country, where it is needed. Perhaps the significance of this project was that it comes in line with what the government aims to achieve by 2030.
“We are a nation in pursuit of development. In the power sector, we want our country by 2030, to have 70% of our country have access to cheap, reliable and even green energy,” said Marape.
PNG Hydro Development Ltd Managing Director Mr. Allan Guo said the project took close to 15 years to come to this final stage and cost K650million. He said all these would not have been done without support; therefore, he extended his appreciation to the landowners of Edevu, the provincial and national government, and its partners for the support and approvals given to achieve this hydro project.
The project received a lot of support from the leaders of all consecutive governments, with the current Marape- Rosso government providing desperately needed funds for the 132kVA transmission lines to make it a complete success.
“In the last two years, over K200million worth of support was given to PNG Power and close to K100million was invested for the power line that will uplink power to the city (Port Moresby) and to the neighboring areas,” the PM explained the government support.
Marape said that with the demand of energy increasing, power is a necessity for development and investments, and as such, his government will continue to support such investments in the country.