Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has announced that the government is building a 1,200-megawatt state-owned gas-fired power plant, which, when completed, will become Ghana’s biggest power plant since independence.
The facility will surpass the 1,020-megawatt Akosombo Hydroelectric Power Station and is expected to provide reliable and affordable electricity to support Ghana’s industrial transformation.
“Ghana is acting by building a 1,200 MW state-owned gas-fired power plant,” Dr Forson said.
He made the announcement at the Future of Energy Conference 2026, organised by the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), where he stressed the importance of reliable and affordable energy to Ghana’s industrial ambitions.
According to the Finance Minister, Ghana’s investment forms part of a broader effort to address Africa’s significant energy deficit and create the conditions necessary for industrialisation.
He said about 600 million Africans currently lacked access to electricity, while the continent attracted only about two per cent of global clean-energy investment.
“We cannot industrialise a continent the world considers too risky to power,” he said.
Dr Forson said African countries needed to create the right conditions to attract greater investment into their energy sectors, including through efficient utilities, predictable regulation and credible opportunities for private investors.
He acknowledged that governments alone could not provide the substantial long-term financing required for major energy projects.
“In 2025, Africa’s debt-servicing costs were equivalent to more than 85 per cent of the continent’s energy investment. Public budgets cannot carry it alone,” he stated.
He therefore called for the use of guarantees, blended finance, local-currency funding, deeper capital markets and credible public-private partnerships to help close Africa’s energy financing gap.
Dr Forson said Ghana’s proposed 1,200-megawatt plant reflected the government’s determination to secure reliable and affordable electricity to power industries, create jobs and drive economic transformation.
When completed, the facility will have a generating capacity 180 megawatts higher than the Akosombo Hydroelectric Power Station, currently Ghana’s largest power plant by installed capacity.