The government says it will invest US$1 billion to build the Pwalugu Multi-purpose Dam on the White Volta. The 2027 Budget, read by Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson on Thursday 12 November, says the first phase will be ready by early 2029 and the whole dam by December 2030.
That is 11 years after the sod was cut on 29 November 2019, as MyJoyOnline, Graphic and GNA report. The original target was 2024, as Citi Newsroom and 3News report. At the 2019 sod-cutting, the build was put at 50 months (MyJoyOnline) or about four years and two months (Graphic).
Future dates are targets, not outturns. Sources: Volta River Authority 2019; MyJoyOnline 29 Nov 2019; Citi Newsroom 24 Mar 2026; Ghana News Agency 14 Nov 2026; Ministry of Finance, 2027 Budget Statement.
Same price, different dam
The 2019 project was estimated at US$993 million, according to the Volta River Authority and GNA. The new pledge is US$7 million, or 0.7%, higher. The comparison is in nominal dollars, and the scope has changed.
In 2019 the plan was a 60 MW hydro plant, a 50 MW solar farm and about 25,000 hectares of irrigation. The 2027 Budget keeps "over 25,000 hectares" and raises hydropower to 70 MW.
Its dam section does not mention solar. Elsewhere it says the first 16.5 MWp phase of a separate VRA solar plant at Pwalugu was "technically commissioned".
The Budget's printed text gives 1,000 fish cages. In 2019, President Akufo-Addo said the reservoir could hold up to 120,000, MyJoyOnline reported.
ChannelOne News quoted Dr Forson as saying 100,000. The published Statement and Speech both say 1,000, as does GNA.
Where the money is, and is not
US$1 billion is about GH¢11.69 billion at the Bank of Ghana's mid-rate of 11.69 on Friday 13 November. That is four times the Ministry of Food and Agriculture's whole government-funded allocation for 2027 (GH¢2.88 billion).
Spread evenly over 2027 to 2030, it would be about GH¢2.9 billion a year. That is an illustration; the Budget gives no yearly phasing.
We rendered and read Appendix 4A's government-funded tables for the Economic and Infrastructure sectors. Neither has a line named for Pwalugu. The Agriculture Ministry's line for all ongoing irrigation projects is GH¢105 million.
The Budget names no financier or builder for the dam. 3News's Saturday check, which @tv3_ghana shared, made the same point about financing, and had already set the 2019 and 2027 plans side by side.
The pledge is a third of the US$3 billion the Budget sets for its whole commercial agriculture pillar.
What has been spent
In May 2024 the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority said US$11.949 million had been paid to PowerChina, the contractor for the irrigation component, as part-payment of mobilisation fees, GNA reported. GIDA said this was not payment for construction works.
It listed designs, impact assessments, site studies, a 5.2-kilometre access road, the contractor's camp and site offices as the work done, and Citi Newsroom and 3News report GIDA as saying construction had not begun. The payment is 1.2% of the whole project's 2019 estimate.
On Tuesday 24 March 2026, Energy Minister John Jinapor told Parliament's Government Assurances Committee, "the contractor took the money and bolted", Citi Newsroom reported. Some outlets reported him as saying the contractor was not paid.
He then issued a statement saying "the contractor had been paid but absconded with the funds without executing any corresponding work", MyJoyOnline reported. He said the matter had gone to the Attorney-General.
What people on X are saying
@tv3_ghana's post had about 3,800 impressions. @adegokehakim, replying to Citi FM, asked Dr Bawumia "what happened to Pwalugu dam that was meant for irrigation of farm land?" One low-reach post, by @sua_nyansaa_, said the dam "has already been completed".
That is wrong. GIDA, as reported by GNA, listed only preparatory and site works such as an access road and camp, and the Energy Minister said the contractor left without executing any corresponding work.
What it means
The dam is meant to anchor vegetable self-sufficiency. Recorded imports of vegetables, roots and tubers, plus processed vegetables such as tomato paste, were about US$55 million in 2025, as we reported here: https://www.statsgh.com/agriculture-and-commodities/ghana-recorded-food-imports-us2-9bn-2025-below-forson-3-5bn.
Customs data miss informal trade, and the dam also has power and flood-control aims.
We did not ask the Finance or Energy ministries or GIDA for comment. No financing plan for the dam was found in the Budget.
Limitations
A Budget pledge is not an allocation or a release. We checked only the 2027 Appendix 4A government-funded tables. Money from loans, grants or other funds could sit elsewhere.
Dollar figures from 2019 and 2026 are nominal. The 2026 and 2025 Budget Statements and the 2026 Mid-Year Review speech, which we searched, do not mention Pwalugu.
Sources: Ministry of Finance, 2027 Budget Statement and Economic Policy (12 Nov 2026), paras 256, 319–328, 1289, 1542–1543; Appendix 4A: MDA Expenditure Allocation (GH¢) – 2027 [Economic Sector – GOG], p.191, and [Infrastructure Sector – GOG], p.192. Ministry of Finance, 2027 Budget Speech (12 Nov 2026), paras 183–192. Ministry of Finance, 2026 and 2025 Budget Statements; 2026 Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review Speech (searched, no Pwalugu reference). Bank of Ghana, Daily Interbank FX Rates, 13 Nov 2026 (USDGHS mid 11.6900). 3News, "The stalled Pwalugu Dam gets a US$1bn Budget pledge and a December 2030 finish date", 14 Nov 2026. GNA, "Government to invest US$1bn in Pwalugu Dam to anchor Ghana's vegetable industry", 14 Nov 2026. ChannelOne News, "2027 Budget: Gov't commits $1bn to complete Pwalugu Dam by 2030", 12 Nov 2026. Volta River Authority, "USD 993 Million Pwalugu Multi-Purpose Dam Project Takes Off", 2019. MyJoyOnline, "Akufo-Addo cuts sod for $993m Pwalugu Dam and Irrigation Project", 29 Nov 2019. Graphic Online, "President Akufo-Addo cuts sod for $1bn Pwalugu Multipurpose Dam", 30 Nov 2019. Citi Newsroom, "Pwalugu Dam stalls as contractor 'bolts' with funds – Energy Minister", 24 Mar 2026. MyJoyOnline, "John Jinapor debunks Pwalugu Dam payment claims, says contractor was paid but abandoned project", 24 Mar 2026. 3News, "Pwalugu Multi-purpose Dam: Contractor 'bolts' after being paid $11.9m for no work done - Energy Minister", 25 Mar 2026. StatsGH, "Ghana recorded food imports US$2.9bn in 2025, below Forson's US$3.5bn", 14 Nov 2026.
X posts: @tv3_ghana; @Channel1TVGHA; @metrotvgh; @adegokehakim; @sua_nyansaa_.