President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has commissioned a $40 million baby diapers and sanitary pad factory at Bortionor in the Greater Accra Region under his Government's flagship One District One Factory (1D1F) initiative.
The Sunda Diaper factory is believed to be the biggest in SubSaharan Africa and it's owned by Chinese firm Sunda International Limited.
It is among other three other factories to be established in Ghana over the last two years by the Chinese, one being the Twyford Factory in the Western Region which is also a factory under 1D1F and into the production of ceramics.
In his speech to commission the multimillion dollars factory, President Akufo-Addo called for public support in attracting more investors into the country.
The President was happy "to see what is taking place today.
He told the Ghanaian people that his Government was working assiduously to transform the Ghanaian economy, saying the work we are doing to strengthen the macroeconomic stability of our country is not some paper work.
In direct attack on his critics who think that many of the promises he made to Ghanaians such as the Free Senior High School, One Village One Dam, 1D1F were just to win votes in th 2016 elections, the President indicated strongly that all the programs of his Government were not gimmicks but noted that they were part of a well thought out plan for the social and economic development of Ghana.
He made it so clear that he was not a President who will lie to the Ghanaian people for votes but that he was committed to fulfilling all pledges made to them in 2016 before the end of his four years in 2020, observing that the Ghanaian is highly capable of taking charge of his or own destiny.
It was his prayer that more of such factories were established across Ghana to reduce imports and help create jobs for Ghanaians, noting when the nation imports, it only help to create jobs for other countries and not Ghanaians.
Mr. Akufo-Addo used the occasion to reaffirm his Government's commitment to promoting industrial developments nationwide by forming strong collaboration with the private sector and creating the right business environment, indicating that his government will not be the one that preside over what he termed as widening deficit, high debts.
He also reassured the nation, especially the business community about providing stable electricity, intimating that his administration will not be the one that return Ghana to the era of unstable electricity supply which came to infamously be known as dumsor in the local parlance.
Future Expansion
Managing Director of Sunda Diaper Limited, Dong Ming Hu, the $40 million of which the company itself contributed $26 million, with $14 million support from local banks in Ghana, was only for the first phase of the factory which has about five production lines.
He said in 2019, the company hopes to increase the investment to about $55 million for the second phase of the project and that will might increase the maiden workforce of 500 to about 1,000 jobs.
He revealed that Sunda International Limited was planning to establish about 12 new businesses in SubSaharan Africa over the next three years.
Recovery
Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyeremanteng highlighted the tremendous contributions the 1D1F had made so far to the growth of the Ghanaian economy.
According to him, at the end of 2016 the industrial sector recorded a negative growth rate.
He said within a year of assuming office in January 2017, President Akufo-Addo has been to restore the sector onto the path of growth, with the recording a 16 percent growth rate in 2017 and contributing immensely to the overall national economic growth rate of eight percent for that year.
Incentives
He said there has been a Cabinet approval for those importing equipment under the 1D1F program not to pay duties at ports across the country, reiterating that 1D1F factories like Sunda shall enjoy tax holiday of up to five years.
Gratitude
The chiefs and people of Bortionor/Ngleshie/Amanfro, thanked the Chinese for investing in their area and pledged to protect their investment.
About 1D1F
The 1D1F is an initiative of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) which aims at creating jobs for Ghanaians through the setting up of factories and industries
Such factories and industries like Sunda Diaper Limited, are expected to in turn move Ghana towards greater industrialisation.
First introduced in 2016 as part of the manifesto promises of the NPP, the 1D1F program received a major boost on January 13, 2018 with the commissioning of Twyford Ceramics factory by Mr. Akufo-Addo within the Shaman District of the Western Region.
The Twyford factory is into the production and distribution of tiles and it is estimated at the cost of $77.26 million and will operate at a designed production capacity of 14.4 million square meters per year with annual sales projected to be $82.8 million.
Source: Peacefmonline.com
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