$500-million cement factory for Weija-Gbawe

The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Mr Ishmael Ashitey, has cut the sod for the construction of a cement factory in the Weija-Gbawe municipality.

The factory falls under the government’s One-district, One-factory (1D1F) initiative and it is expected to be completed in one year.

The project is being undertaken by Empire Cement Ghana Limited, in partnership with Obokom Civil Engineering Limited, at an estimated cost of $500 million.

It is 70 per cent owned by Chinese investors and 30 per cent by Obokom Civil Engineering.

According to the investors, the onstruction phase of the enterprise was expected to give employment to 13,000 people.

Government objectives

Speaking at the sod-cutting ceremony at Weija yesterday, Mr Ashitey said one of the government’s principal objectives was to provide employment for the youth.

“The government came out with this 1D1F policy to get both international and local investors to add value to our local materials,” he said.

He called on the investors not to fail the government and the people of Weija-Gbawe, adding: “We have a lot of confidence in you and we are confident that you will use one year to complete this project.”

Environment

The Weija-Gbawe Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Patrick Brako Kumor, gave an assurance that the project was not going to impact negatively on the environment.

“All the safety measures required are going to be enforced, so that our people can go about their activities normally and live in an environment free from pollution,” he said.

He encouraged the contractor working on the project to consider giving the youth of Weija-Gbawe priority in his recruitment drive, since the majority of them were unemployed.

“A lot of the youth in this community need jobs and so we are asking that you consider them first when employing people, as this will improve socio-economic activities in the municipality,” Mr Kumor added.

For her part, the Member of Parliament for Weija-Gbawe, Mrs Tina Gifty Mensah, who is also a Deputy Minister of Health, expressed her gratitude to the investors, the chiefs and community leaders for their support for the project.

“To the youth, we are seeing something new in this constituency, put together by the MCE and I. We will continue to work hard with the leaders of this community to bring in more projects. I plead with the investors to ensure that the project is completed within schedule,” she said.

The Chief Executive Officer of Obokom Civil Engineering, Nana Obokomatta IX, said as a corporate social enterprise, the company would construct an Astro turf for the municipality to be used as training grounds for budding footballers in the area.