The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, yesterday reiterated his government’s commitment to make Ghana the preferred destination for mining investment in the world as it inaugurates the $88million redeveloped Songhor Lagoon Salt project.
Christened the Electrochem Ghana Limited, the operators of the salt concession is a subsidiary of the McDan Group of Companies and a wholly Ghanaian-owned concession.
The first phase of the project is estimated to produce about 650,000 tonnes of salt by end of this year, increased to one million tonnes by the end of 2024 and finally scaled up to two million tonnes by 2025.
Inaugurating the project, President Akufo-Addo said “In spite of our present challenges I maintain that it is an exciting time to be in Ghana to do business in the country. The Akufo-Addo government is determined to make Ghana an example of rapid economic growth within the contest of developed market economies where the private sector does not only survive but actually strives.
He explained that not only was Ghana the best place for doing business in West Africa, but was also the preferred destination for a perfect blend of mineral resource potential, stable regulatory environment, favourable fiscal regime and socially responsible mining in Africa.
President Akufo-Addo said the primacy of the private sector and the development of the national economy was fundamental as it formed the very basis of the economic philosophy of the party that gave birth to his government.
He said the NPP as a tradition had not wavered in its belief that given an enabling environment the ingenuity and sense of enterprise of the Ghanaian would enable us build a strong and powerful economy to deliver a good standard of living to the people.
On his part, the Group Chairman of MCDAN, Dr Daniel Mckorley, said entrepreneurs must be brave in their quest to create the needed impact for the country.
“For half a century, many attempted to revamp Songhor without success. Here we are today, united as people of Ada and more importantly as Ghanaians, working together to unlock the potential of this God-given natural resource and share it with the world,” he emphasised.
Dr Mckorley said the ambition of Electrochem included developing a world class salt refinery, a chlor-alkali plant, a chemical research university in Ada and an Ada East jetty, and a lot.
To support this, he said they would also develop a two-kilometre port from the salt mine to ease the pressure the carting of the salt would put on our roads.
Dr Mckorley noted that the people of Ada and its immediate environs were beginning to reap the benefits of the project.
He said the ultimate goal was to offer 7,000 direct employment to the people of the area with 3,000 already working, following the completion of the first phase of the project
