Cape Coast, May 10, GNA – Mr John Alan Kojo Kyerematen, the Minister of Trade and Industry, has paid a working visit to the Komenda Sugar Factory to assess the progress of work towards reviving the factory.
The visit formed part of the Government’s avowed commitment to reviving the infamous factory in tandem with its industrialisation drive.
The $35-million factory, built from an Indian Exim Bank facility, has not worked since its commissioning in 2016 by the National Democratic Congress government then led by Mr John Dramani Mahama.
However, in March 2022, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo gave a strong indication that the factory would become functional in April 2022, when he received a delegation from the Komenda Traditional Council at the Jubilee House.
He assured the delegation that civil works being undertaken by the Indian investors would be completed in March to pave the way for the production of sugar.
In tandem with government’s vision, Mr Kyerematen, and Mrs Justina Marigold Assan, the Central Regional Minister, among other dignitaries, inspected the civil works being undertaken by the Indian investors.
Mr Kyerematen said he was impressed with the progress of work and expressed optimism about the revival of the defunct factory to create jobs for sugar cane growers and the youth to revive the local economy.
In Cape Coast, he led the team to visit the defunct Ameen Sangari Industries Limited, which had been captured on the ‘One District, One Factory’ (1D1F) industrialization initiative to be revamped by the government.
The oldest manufacturing company in the region aside from soap and palm kernel oil production, also processed teak trees for electricity poles.
The company, which had operated in the Metropolis for close to 10 decades had more than 600 workers, but had to downsize the workforce to 280 due to the high cost of power, pilfering and administrative challenges.
According to the Trade and Industry Minister, the company had received a 6.1 million Cedis loan facility covering the procurement of equipment and machinery as well as working capital.
Accordingly, Mr. Kyeremanteng toured the facility and assured the workers of a restart of the factory’s operations as soon as practicable to bring socioeconomic relief to the people and government at large.