The government is considering a viable cheap power option for the Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO) for smelting to enable the country derive maximum benefit from its bauxite resources, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has said.
He said the objective of the government was to achieve the dream of a fully integrated industry by Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah.
Mr Buah disclosed this in Accra yesterday when he paid a working visit to the Ghana Integrated Aluminum Development Corporation (GIADEC).
He was accompanied by his Deputy, Mr Yusif Sulemana and some senior officials of the ministry.
The Minister also visited the Ghana Geological Survey Authority (GGSA) and the Forest Plantation Development Fund Board.
Mr Buah said the government was considering either hydro power or a dedicated gas source for VALCO, the smelting company.
The Minister explained that the objective of the creation of the Akosombo Dam was to provide cheap power but that dream had not been realised.
He said the roads in the bauxite producing areas would be improved to facilitate the transport of bauxite.
Mr Buah pledged that he would work to make GIADEC one of the best and profitable organisations in the country.
He said he was familiar with the mandate of GIADEC for an integrated aluminum industry.
That, he said, was necessary to add value to the country’s aluminum resources to derive maximum benefits and create jobs through the sector.
At the GGSA, Mr Buah said he would work to ensure that new geological equipment were acquired and the obsolete ones were replaced, as well as support the Authority to do more research.
He said the GGSA was an important agency under the MLNR.
Mr Buah indicated that it was through the work of the Authority that the country’s mineral deposits could be determined to attract investment into the mining sector.
He entreated the Authority to use its power to initiate projects and programmes to increase the Authority’s revenue generation.
Also at the Forest Plantation Development Fund Board, the Minister said the objective of the establishment of the fund to develop commercial forest plantation was relevant.
Mr Buah pledged that he would work to settle the GH¢4 million debt the fund owed to seedling producers.
The Chief Executive Officer of GIADEC, Reindorf Twumasi Ankrah, said the GIADEC would need in excess of $4 billion dollars to develop the entire value chain of the country’s aluminium sector.
He said the amount would be invested into the refinery and smelter to process the country’s bauxite into aluminium and its derivatives.
He commended the Minister and his team for visiting the corporation.
The Acting Director-General of GGSA, Isaac Kuuwan, thanked the Minister and his team for visiting the Authority.
BY KINGSLEY ASARE
