To revive the defunct Komenda Sugar Factory in the Central Region, Minister of Trade and Industry Kobina Tahir Hammond announced the government’s plan to lease the facility to Indian investors for approximately 20 years.
He mentioned that the lease agreement could be renewed once the contract is finalized.
Speaking to journalists after touring the Komenda Sugar Factory on Wednesday, July 31, 2024, K.T. Hammond stated that the factory is entirely owned by the Government of Ghana, with the investors only managing the assets and making payments to the government.
He clarified that the government does not hold any shares in the sugar produced.
The Minister of Trade and Industry in an interview with the media said, “That whole thing belongs to Government of Ghana. The asset is ours; we are leasing it and there’s a board in place. It’s a company which has a board. We just put them in charge.”
“We’re not going to have shares in their products but the company is 100% Ghana owned,” he stated.
In response to the question regarding the lease period to West Africa Agro-tech Limited, the trade minister stated, “I am thinking of giving it to them 15 or 20 years with an option of an extension or some sort of renewal after the initial lease.”
K.T Hammond stated that GH¢45million was expended by government to keep the Komenda Sugar Factory running.
He mentioned that West Africa Agro-tech Limited, the investors in the Komenda sugar factory, imported 1,000 tonnes of raw sugar for a test run.
This test was conducted to see if white sugar could be produced.
The Government of Ghana transferred the Komenda Sugar Factory to a strategic investor in November 2019 after a three-and-a-half-year hiatus.
The $35 million factory, which was inaugurated under former president John Dramani Mahama, has been non-operational since May 2016.
In September 2018, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo revealed that the factory’s sale was due to several issues, including a lack of sufficient sugarcane in the surrounding area.
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