President John Dramani Mahama has pledged to reignite Ghana’s long-delayed Pwalugu Dam project after witnessing the inauguration of Ethiopia’s Megech Irrigation Dam, which he described as an inspiration for advancing irrigation and agricultural development.
Mahama joined Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali at the inauguration in Gondar on Friday, October 23, where he highlighted the potential of major water infrastructure projects to improve food production, support electricity generation and strengthen food security.
“Indeed, this ceremony has inspired me because we have a similar dam in Ghana, which was started many years ago, or attempted to be started many years ago, and it’s been abandoned. And so this project inspires me to go back to reignite and restart the Pwalugu irrigation project,” he stated.
He also commended Abiy for Ethiopia’s development efforts, describing him as one of the transformational leaders Africa needs.
“I want to stand on behalf of the people of Ghana and salute my brother, Prime Minister Abiy, for the very commendable work you’ve done. These are the kind of transformational leaders we need in Africa,” Mahama said.
The Megech Dam has a storage capacity of 185 million cubic metres and is expected to irrigate more than 17,000 hectares of farmland while improving access to clean drinking water in Gondar and surrounding communities. The project is also expected to create economic opportunities through agriculture, fisheries and tourism.
Mahama drew parallels between the Ethiopian project and Ghana’s proposed Pwalugu Dam, which is intended to support irrigation, flood management and power generation. He indicated that irrigation would be a major priority, with the Ghanaian project expected to serve about 25,000 hectares of farmland in communities across the northern belt and contribute to food security.
The Pwalugu Multipurpose Dam and Irrigation Project, located in the Upper East Region, was launched under the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration in November 2019, with an initial estimated cost of US$993 million.
The project was designed to combine hydropower generation with solar power and irrigation infrastructure. However, construction failed to make meaningful progress, despite the government paying approximately US$11.9 million to the contractor.
In March 2026, Energy Minister John Jinapor told Parliament’s Assurance Committee that preliminary findings indicated the contractor had abandoned the project site after receiving the payment, while investigations were ongoing into the circumstances surrounding the contract.
Mahama’s renewed commitment also follows his 2024 election campaign pledge to build the Pwalugu Dam to help manage water released from Burkina Faso’s Bagre Dam and enable farmers to cultivate their land throughout the year. The National Democratic Congress’s 2024 manifesto also committed to developing the Pwalugu and Nasia Nabogu multipurpose dams to support year-round agricultural production.
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