Vice President of IMANI Africa, Bright Simons, has questioned the feasibility of Ghana’s planned AI compute centre, citing concerns about electricity costs, reliable power supply and water availability.
He spoke on JoyNews’ AI and the Ghana Economy on Wednesday, October 21.
Mr Simons challenged Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations Minister Samuel Nartey George to show how the proposed facility would operate efficiently, given Ghana’s infrastructure and cost constraints.
He argued that the government must address the practical challenges of running an AI computing facility rather than assume the project will automatically succeed.
Mr Simons identified electricity prices as a major factor that could determine the financial viability of the centre. According to him, such facilities need relatively affordable energy to operate efficiently and compete with similar infrastructure elsewhere.
“Nobody builds an AI centre unless the energy, say, the price of energy is roughly 3 cents to 5 cents. So if Ghana does it from 10 cents to 12 cents, that AI data computing centre will not be efficient,” he said.
He warned that if Ghana’s electricity costs remain significantly higher than the rates he cited, the facility could struggle to offer computing services at competitive prices.
Mr Simons said the government would face a difficult choice if the centre could not cover its operating costs.
