1D1F: Akufo-Addo commissions $2.1 million rubber processing plant
The factory, a 100% Ghanaian-owned enterprise, has the capacity to process 20 tonnes of rubber daily for export to countries such as Turkey and Malaysia
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Friday 3 September 2021 commissioned the Narubiz Rubber Factory, a business operating under the government’s One District, One Factory (1D1F) initiative, at Wassa Dompim, in the Wassa East District of the Western Region.
The factory, which is a 100% Ghanaian-owned company, has the daily capacity to process 20 tonnes of rubber for export to countries such as Turkey, Malaysia and Hong Kong.
It is anticipated that a total of 6,240 tonnes of processed rubber will be exported each year, generating US$9.6 million of foreign exchange for the country.
Commissioning the factory at the start of a two-day tour of the Western Region, Akufo-Addo said that the total investment in the factory is $2.1 million, with GCB Bank providing a $1.38 million loan facility to the company, under the 1D1F initiative being implemented by the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
In addition, the factory has enjoyed import duty exemptions on plant, equipment, and machinery from the government which among other incentives, have been designed to boost the competitiveness of the companies operating under the 1D1F programme.
Construction of the factory began on 10 February 2020. Currently it offers direct and indirect employment to over 1,340 employees, including outgrowers, latex harvesters, farm maintenance workers and transporters.
The president noted that the siting of the factory in the Western Region will encourage more Ghanaians to engage in the cultivation of natural rubber in the catchment area, as well as other neighbouring regions to feed the state-of-the-art factory.
With Ghana’s emerging automobile industry, he was confident that factory will play a critical role in the development of component parts for the auto industry, such as vehicle tyres, car seats and fan belts, which could be produced from the raw materials currently being manufactured from Narubiz Rubber Factory.
Akufo-Addo commended the business promoters and traditional authorities of the area for their unflinching support for the project, as well as GCB Bank for providing the loan facility for the establishment of the factory.
Phase III, KEDA Ceramics factory
In Shama, the president commissioned phase three of the KEDA Ceramics factory. Construction of the factory started in September 2019 and was completed in June 2021.
The factory has generated 2,000 direct and 5,000 indirect employment opportunities, with the company having invested some $150 million in all three phases, resulting in an increased production capacity of 150,000 square metres of tiles per day. The company exports 60% of tiles it produces to the West African market.
It will be recalled that the president on Tuesday 23 July, 2019, cut the sod for the thirs phase of expansion works of the factory, a company operating under the government’s One District, One Factory initiative.
At the time, President Akufo-Addo said: “The operations of the company have also seen a significant reduction in the import of tiles by as much as 14%. The contribution that this company is making in the industrialisation agenda of the country and the transformation of our economy is significant.”
Particularly happy about the decision of the company to source their raw materials locally, the president noted: “Many of those things we can do here in Ghana, we intend to begin the process of doing them here in Ghana. That is the way we can develop our economy and begin to address the living standards of our people.”
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