Government seeks World Bank, donor partners support for industrialisation agenda …as Dawa Industrial Zone opens for business

The government is in the process of securing funds from the World Bank and development partners in the United Kingdom to support its industrialisation drive, Minister for Trade and Industry, Alan Kyeremanten, has disclosed.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Dawa Industrial Zone and commissioning of the Dawa Power substation, on Wednesday, the minister said an amount of 75 million dollars and 20 million pounds, from the World Bank and the UK Partnership for International Development respectively, had been earmarked to begin the first phase of developing industrial parks in the country.

The support, he said, would be a huge boost to government’s industrial transformation agenda, a new initiative together with the private sector, to develop at least one major industrial park in each region of the country.

“We would soon begin the projects across the country, which would serve as a huge boost for industrial transformation in the country and subsequently the economy at large,” he stated.

According to him, the government was providing incentives and the enabling environment for the private sector to make the investment in the area of industrial parks.

“Fortunately for us, our developing partners, the World Bank through the Ghana Economic Contribution project and the UK Partnership for International Development, are providing additional support, to enable the government discharge its one responsibility towards the development of the industrial parks,” he stated.

Through support from private sector investments, assistance from the development partners and government, he said the country would achieve its industrialisation agenda.

He therefore commended LMI Holdings, for developing the Dawa Industrial Zone which would serve as a huge boost to the economy in various areas.

The Industrial Zone is Ghana’s largest industrial park, which covers 22,000 acres of land with about 2,000 acres already developed and opened for investors.

“This would provide employment to the millions of people who enter the labour market on yearly basis, stimulate economic activities in Dawa and surrounding communities and also serve as a boost to the President’s Ghana Beyond Aid initiative,” he stated.

Inaugurating the Industrial Zone and commissioning the Dawa Power Substation on behalf of President Nana Akufo Addo, Minister for Energy, John Peter Amewu, said a critical component of any industrialisation drive had to be the access to reliable and cost-competitive sources of electricity.

“Hence, we see the substation built in Dawa as a significant contribution to addressing the infrastructural needs of the energy sector and the evident demonstration of the overall contribution that private sectors like Enclave Power Companies, Ghana’s first and only indigenous private electricity distribution company, can make in addressing our energy challenges,” he stated.

Aside the contributions it makes to the economy, he said, the facility funded from money sourced from local Ghanaian private resources, serves as an indication that, the country has what it takes to develop with support from the private sector.

The Dawa Industrial Zone substation project, he said, had a total capacity of 132 MVA of electricity and has already been made available for industrial and commercial customers, who would locate within the 2,000-acre business park.

According to the Managing Director of Enclave Power, Mr Norbert Anku, the project, when fully completed, would provide a total of 396 MVA of electricity and would be available for distribution from the substation, making it one of the largest bulk supply points for electricity in the entire West African sub-region.

On his part, Chief Executive Officer of LMI Holdings, Kojo Aduhene, said they would collaborate with the government to build industrial parks across the country.

“The idea was to build a new Tema with the Dawa project and subsequently make the entire country a giant as far as industrial parks are concerned,” he stated.

 BY MICHAEL D. ABAYATEYE