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Explore career opportunitiesUniversity of Ghana Medical Center, Legon
Prior to the substation installation, frequent outages and low voltage were a common occurrence. This substation seeks to address the voltage fluctuation problems in these communities. Power is evacuated to the UGMC and other load centres through 41.4km of 11KV offloading circuits.
SMEC provided engineering design, project management and technical expertise for the construction and implementation of the project. SMEC also supervised the commissioning of the substation. The $11million project was funded by the United States government acting Millennium Challenge Corporation and is part of the Ghana Power Compact Program.
New equipment within the substation includes two 26MVA transformers located outdoors and switching equipment housed in an adjacent control building. The substation has been designed for scalability, with capacity to extend the 33kV and 11kV switchgear in future.
The new facility has capacity to provide reliable power supply to the University of Ghana Medical Centre and the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research – while also serving as an alternative source of supply to the University of Ghana, the Ghana Institute of Public Administration, Ghana Standards Authority, and surrounding communities.
The deputy minister for Energy, Mohammed Amin Adam said the UGMC would benefit from a more stable and reliable energy supply,
“UGMC Primary Substation is one of many electric infrastructural assets, which form part of the Ghana Power Compact Programme. With the substation in close proximity to these institutions and with sufficient redundant capacity, the risk of equipment failure due to voltage fluctuations is significantly reduced”
The Tbilisi Development Fund has engaged SMEC to develop the Dighomi floodplain rehabilitation strategy. The Dighomi Floodplain is an area of special conservation interest, which includes riparian forest, protected Otter habitat and other unique flora and fauna ecosystems that have been assessed as critical by the International Finance Corporate Performance Standard.
SMEC has been contracted by Electricidade De Timor-Leste (EDTL) for the role of Project Supervision Consultants for the Power Distribution Modernisation Project in Timor-Leste. Supported by a loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the project aims to assist EDTL in modernising the country’s power distribution system and strengthening institutional capacity.
Geotechnics will play a key role in helping our society achieve a safe, prosperous and sustainable future. Recent droughts have resulted in a need for more dam design and construction. Recent rainfall has resulted in extensive slop failures impacting our roads, rail and urban infrastructure. Energy transformation is driving large scale solar, wind and pumped hydro construction. These projects will all require geotechnical input to future plan for our communities.
Richard Parsons, one of SMEC’s key leaders in Social Value and Engagement is presenting on their technical paper ‘Considering Social Impact Assessment from a public interest perspective - some critical questions’ at the Environmental Institute of Australia and New Zealand 2023 Impact Assessment Symposium in Canberra.