The Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) will require about four billion dollars to expand its operations in bauxite mining, aluminium smelting, as well as refining alumina in the country.
Mr Reindorf Twumasi Ankrah, the Chief Executive Officer of GIADEC, made this known in a media interview when Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, paid a working visit to the company in Accra on Thursday.
Mr Ankrah said, for instance, the Company needed $800 million to expand the operations of VALCO, $1.5 billion for railway and ports expansion and $250 million for mining of bauxite.
The CEO of GIADEC said that although some investors had expressed a desire to invest in the aluminum value chain, they are yet to make a firm commitment to put money into it.
He was of the belief that investment in GIADEC’s operations would be a game-changer towards enhancing the aluminum downstream businesses.
Mr Ankrah stated that Ghana’s bauxite ore was of high quality and investing into its exploration and mining would bolster the country’s economy and create job opportunities for the Ghanaian youth.
Earlier, Mr Buah, the sector minister, engaged the management and staff of GIADEC and shared President John Mahama’s vision to reset the nation and industrialise through the aluminum industry.
He believed that expanding the aluminum industry required a multi-sectoral approach involving the transport and energy ministries to improve the supply of electricity, fuel, and gas to power the factories.
The Ghana Integrated Aluminum Development Corporation was established through an Act of Parliament, 2018 (Act 976) to promote and develop a globally competitive integrated aluminum industry in Ghana.
GIADEC is the holding company for all government investments and interests in their integrated aluminum industry.
The companies under GIADEC are VALCO and Ghana Bauxite Company, and the mining rights to Ghana’s bauxite reserves.
Source: GNA
