A record investment of $700 million (£449m) has been approved for an energy project in Ghana.

The World Bank believes the Sankofa Gas Project is “transformational” and will help address the nation’s serious energy shortages.

A combination of water shortages for hydropower, erratic gas supplies from external sources and delays in the development of domestic gas resources and new power plants have led to frequent power outages in the country, according to the World Bank.

The project is expected to add 1,000MW of power generation and reduce oil imports by up to 12 million barrels a year and cut carbon emissions by 1.6 million metric tons of CO2 annually.

Ghana’s Finance Minister Seth Terkper said the project is a “game changer” for Ghana and other middle income Sub-Saharan African countries.

He added: “This project is an essential element of the drive towards consolidating our middle income status and will help secure our natural gas resources for a more affordable and reliable power supply. This will help boost economic activity and generate more jobs for Ghanaians.”

The field is scheduled to start producing gas in early 2018.