The proposed Ekumfi fruit processing factory in the Central Region will create more than 5000 jobs for the country's workforce, when it is completed in mid-2018.
General Manager of the company Daniel Kwarteng said he is expecting about $5million of the $2billion secured via the Exim Bank Chinese loan to be invested in the company.
He made the revelation ahead of the formal launch of the project tomorrow – Friday 25th August 2017 by Ghana’s President Nana Akufo – Addo.
The official kick –off of the Ekumfi processing factory construction will also mark the first of several projects that are to be started through various public-private partnerships, in fulfillment of the One-district-one-factory initiative of the administration.
Furthermore, small scale farmers in the area have also expressed excitement over the proposed factory, claiming it will bring an end to them being cheated by local buyers of their pineapples.
Reiterating the view of the farmers, Regional Minister Kwamena Duncan said it will no more be business as usual for the subsistence farmers once the factory is completed.
He noted that: “Now they [the farmers in the area] have an assured and a ready market†for their farm produce at fair prices.
Despite the huge economic potential of the project to the region and Ghana as a whole, economic analysts in the country says stability in the power sector is important to keeping the factory functional.
But the company says it is going to invest in solar as a backup to its reliance on electricity from the main grid.
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