Akufo-Addo in China: $2 billion Sinohydro deal signed

The $2 billion Master Project Support Agreement (MPSM) between the Government of Ghana and

In a Facebook post, President Akufo-Addo said, "Amongst others, I held separate bilateral talks with President Xi Jinping, and Chinese Premier, Li Keqiang, with the talks centered on deepening the ties of co-operation and the bonds of friendship between the two countries.

"The $2 billion Sinohydro deal was also signed between the Government of Ghana and Power China."

The barter trade facility will be used to construct roads, hospitals, houses, rural electrification, interchanges, bridges and other government priority projects.

The agreement received parliamentary approval in July despite protest by the minority who insisted that agreement is a loan.

Meanwhile, the Minority wrote to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to seek its verdict on the matter.

According to the Minority Leader in Parliament Haruna Iddrisu, their side considers the deal to be a loan, hence their letter to the IMF.

The letter was to ask the IMF whether the $2 billion Chinese deal agreed by the government in exchange for bauxite will add to the country’s debt burden

“It is our strong belief that this Sinohydro deal is a loan which is coming to add to the debt stock and we are concerned about the burden of additional borrowing cost on the over-burdened taxpayer,” Iddrisu said.