President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo yesterday inaugurated the second phase of the Sinotruk assembling plant at the Kpone-Katamanso Municipality and also cut the sod for the phase three of the project as part of the government’s industrialisation drive.
With the second phase completed, the plant owned by Zonda Tec Ghana Limited now has the capacity to produce about 3,000 trucks per annum from the current 850 trucks.
Inaugurating the facility at Katamanso in the Greater Accra Region yesterday, President Akufo-Addo said it was significant that even as Sinotruk Ghana Limited begun commercial production for phase two, it was also investing in a third phase of expansion.
He said this demonstrated the confidence of the growth trajectory of the truck assembly business and the growth prospects of Ghana's economy.
The President said Sinotruk and its partners had demonstrated how major players in the import and distribution chain had taken advantage of the government’s strategic intervention of One District One Factory (1D1F) to transition from importation and distribution of trucks to establishing assembly plants for both the local and export market.
“It is based on the solid foundation of the first phase investment in Kpone-Katamanso that Sinotruk’s business in Ghana continues to soar. I am reliably informed that this new assembly plant we are about to commission in Tema will increase the current annual production capacity from 850 trucks to more than 3,000 heavy-duty and light-duty trucks, including tipper trucks, wheel loaders, backhoes, trailers, semi-trailers, oil tankers as well as a variety of light-duty vehicles, assembled from Semi-Knocked Down (SKDs) kits, which ensure adherence to international standards of quality and safety,” he said.
In addition, he said the assembly plant would double employment in the company from 356 to 700 as well as also create 1,000 indirect employment opportunities.
On his part, the Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Kobina Tahir Hammond said the Kpone-Katamanso Municipality had become a bustling hub boasting of at least 10 1D1F companies.
These factories, he said included Mass Industries, producers of biscuits; Golden Africa, producers of soaps; Golden Africa Consumer, producers of detergents; Matri, producers of paper products; Sentuo Ceramics, producers of ceramic tiles and Multipac, producers of beverages and mineral water.
The rest were Koudijs, producers of animal feed; Ferro Fabrik, producers of Steel products; CIMAF, producers of cement and Nordiq Hygiene, producers of diapers.
Mr Hammond said the inauguration of the phase two of the plant marked yet another milestone in the quest to industrialise and create more skilled jobs and stable sources of income for Ghanaians.
The Chief Executive Officer of Sinotruk, Ms Yang Yang expressed her appreciation to the government for making the project successful.
She said not only would the plant create job opportunities for Ghanaians, but would also act as a strategic partner in Ghana’s industrialisation agenda.
-By Cliff Ekuful|Ghanaiantimes|Ghana
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