President commissions B5 Plus Steel Plant - Restates commitment to 24-Hour Economy
President John Dramani Mahama has inaugurated the expanded B5 Plus Steel Plant at Lakpleku in the Ningo-Prampram District in the Greater Accra Region.
The President reiterated the government's resolve to create a conducive environment for manufacturing through strategic policy interventions, including the flagship 24-hour Economy initiative.
Addressing the management, staff and dignitaries at the ceremony at the factory yesterday, President Mahama emphasised that the plant’s operations would be a direct beneficiary of the government's policy to ensure reliable and affordable gas supply and enable manufacturers to operate competitively beyond traditional working hours.
"This administration is serious about running a 24-hour economy. The allocation of GH¢110 million in the 2026 budget to operationalise this initiative reflects our commitment. When factories run three shifts instead of one, employment rises, and productivity expands," President Mahama said.
He outlined recent fiscal measures aimed at bolstering industry, including a reduction in the effective corporate tax rate from 21.9 per cent to 20 per cent.
The President stated that the government was leveraging digital monitoring systems to reduce revenue leakages and unfair cost burdens, to ensure that investors compete on productivity rather than navigating policy unpredictability.
Highlighting the critical link between local manufacturing and the extractive sector, President Mahama stated that Ghana's mining industry, encompassing gold, oxide, manganese, and lithium, required significant steel inputs for crushing, grinding, structural reinforcement, and mineral processing.
"With expanding mineral processing initiatives and our commitment to local content in mining, domestic steel manufacturing has become strategically important. We must integrate mining and metal processing into a coordinated industrial ecosystem," he added.
The President commended the company for its role in skills development, stating that at full capacity, facilities such as the B5 plant create direct factory employment, technical and engineering jobs, transport opportunities, and small and medium enterprise (SME) supply chain linkages.
He added that such investments were crucial for building a cohort of local metallurgists, mechanical engineers and plant managers.
"Industrial transformation does not happen overnight. It requires strategic policy, a stable macroeconomic environment, private sector confidence, infrastructure investment and skilled labour.
Ghana is moving on the right path," President Mahama said.
Policy support
The Minister of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, who accompanied the President, reiterated the ministry's commitment to removing bottlenecks hampering industrial growth.
She commended the President for the bold decision to ban the export of non-ferrous scrap materials, a move designed to feed local industries such as B5 Plus with affordable raw materials rather than allowing them to be shipped overseas.
"For too long, scrap metals that could feed plants like this one were exported, while local manufacturers struggled with high costs.
This decisive intervention is vital to sustaining industries under the One District, One Factory programme," the minister said.
Mrs Ofosu-Adjare also announced a significant policy win for exporters following engagements with the Bank of Ghana for the extension of the period for the repatriation of export proceeds from 60 to 120 days.
"This measure makes our industries far more competitive internationally, as it accommodates the longer credit terms industries must offer," she explained.
The Trade Minister assured the business community that high-level discussions were underway with regional counterparts to address payment delays and non-tariff barriers hindering trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
"We have brought under one roof the Ministers of Energy and Lands to resolve challenges with electricity tariffs and land litigation.
Outreach efforts are underway, and results will follow very quickly," Mrs Ofosu-Adjare stated.
B5 Plus commits to local content
In a welcome address, the Executive Director of B5 Plus, Mukesh Tarkwani, described the commissioning as more than the opening of a factory, calling it "the expansion of Ghana’s industrial frontier and the deepening of value addition within our mining and construction sectors."
He emphasised that the civil works, structural fabrication and installations were executed by Ghanaian engineers and technicians, reinforcing local expertise and industrial confidence.
With this expansion, B5 Plus now operates the largest Pre-Engineered Building (PEB) facility in West Africa and the second largest on the continent.
The company directly and indirectly employs more than 15,000 Ghanaians and has remained a consistent member of the prestigious Ghana Club 100 for over a decade.
