1 District, 1 Factory program to be completed in two years

A Deputy Trade and Industry Minister, Robert Ahomka-Lindsay has disclosed that all the factories under the flagship one district one factory program should be operational within the next two years.

Government is targeting to establish a factory each in all the two hundred and sixteen districts to address the issue of unemployment and reduce the country’s imports.

About seventy of such companies have been earmarked to start by this year.

Though Mr. Ahomka-Lindsay explains that most of the companies will have different timelines, he is hopeful of meeting the target as scheduled.

Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, he also stated that majority of the companies are in the agro-processing industry.

“If I look at all the plans that the companies have, within the next two years these companies say they’re going to be up and running. Some will be operational in six months while some will be operational in eighteen months”.

The Minister revealed that as at January 15, 2018 the Ministry of Trade and Industry had received 642 business plans. Out of that number, 538 have been reviewed by a panel of experts who have passed 246 of them as bankable.

The one-district one-factory program is one of the government’s key policy initiatives seeking to revolutionize industry in Ghana.

The program will see at least one factory each, built in all 216 districts across the country.

President Akufo-Addo launched the program by commissioning the first project, a pineapple factory at Ekumfi in the Central Region.

By: Bobbie Osei/citifmonline.com/Ghana