A $35 million multi-dimensional sugar factory in Ghana refurbished by Indian company Seftech, and financed by India Exim Bank, will provide 7,300 jobs and save the country $200 million in imports. It was inaugurated by Ghanaian President John Mahama, on Wednesday.
The factory, with a crushing capacity of 1,200 tonnes a day, is located at Kommenda in the country’s central region.
In addition, the Indian government has approved a $24.5 million facility to support the cultivation of sugarcane with irrigation over more than 2,000 acres as well as provide support for out-growers to ensure supplies to the factory.
The Kommenda sugar factory was established in the 1960s but was abandoned over the years. Two years ago, President Mahama cut the sod for work to begin on the re-construction of the factory with the assistance of the Indian government.
The factory would produce molasses that are planned to be sold to the country’s beverage producers for producing alcohol and ethanol.
At the inauguration, the Ghanian president said the Indian government was planning to establish similar projects in the Greater Accra, Volta and Northern Regions.
(This article has been published in arrangement with IANS.)
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