Government
moves to reactivate sugar production
New textile company starts operations February 2003
Government
moves to reactivate sugar production
Accra (Greater Accra)
08 October 2002- The governments of Ghana and Mauritius on Monday signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the establishment of a joint business
venture to set up a sugarcane plantation and sugar refinery mill in Ghana.
The MOU was signed by
Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku, Minister of Trade and Industry on behalf of the Ghana
government and Mr. J. Patrick Maurel, Managing Director of Nine Stars Impex Company
Limited (NSICL) signed on behalf of the government of Mauritius.
It set the tone for
feasibility studies to be undertaken by the two Mauritius firms, NSICL and
Fuchsia Limited that would lead to the implementation of establishing a
sugarcane plantation and a sugar mill in the country.
The MOU committed the
Ministries of Trade and Industry (MOTI) and of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) on
one hand and the two Mauritius firms on the other, to a joint venture sugar
production arrangement.
Dr. Apraku said the
government has chosen to own a share in the project to make the foreign
investor feel more comfortable investing in the country, adding that the local
private sector was however, invited to be part of the project.
He said government
and private sector of Mauritius have explored several investment and business
opportunities in the country and were poised to make heavy investments in the
country over the next few years.
"Following a
field trip with the consortium from Mauritius led by Mrs. Michelline Feillafe,
Honorary Consul of Ghana in Mauritius, processes have begun, commitments have
been made and goals have been set for businesses to be established in
Ghana," he said.
Dr. Apraku said the
investors have been taken round to see the Asutsuare and Komenda Sugar
factories and those would form the basis of their study and inform the
direction of their investment.
He said private
investors from Mauritius were on their way to Ghana to invest in various
sectors such as the hotel, furniture, textile and other industries. Mr. Maurel
said by April next year a formal agreement between the two governments would be
signed for the sugar production project to begin sometime next year.
He said four out of
22 sugar companies in Mauritius have been merged into one company to undertake
the sugar production project in Ghana, adding that the process promises to be
more viable in Ghana than in Mauritius.
"Mauritius
exports over 600,000 tonnes of sugar every year," he said. "We hope
to make bear our expertise in the sugar industry to make Ghana a major sugar
exporter." Mrs. Feillafe assured Ghanaians that she was in Mauritius to
uphold the course of Ghana, adding that she would ensure that Ghana benefited
from the project.
GRi…/
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New
textile company starts operations February 2003
Accra (Greater Accra)
08 October 2002- Under the Presidential Initiative on Textiles, a new textile
company, Belin Textile International Limited (BTIL), has been established in
Accra to produce T-shirts and Blue Jeans for both local and foreign markets.
The company, located
at the old Ghana National Trading Corporation (GNTC) warehouse at Adjaben in
Accra, would start operations February next year. Mrs. Michelle Feillafe,
Ghana's Honorary Consul to Mauritius disclosed this when she led a team of
Mauritian investors to sign a memorandum of understanding with the government
of Ghana for a sugar production project in Ghana.
She said all the machines
and facilities for the first phase of the operations of the textile company is
in place, adding that the company has been fully registered with the Registrar
General's Department as required by law.
"The first phase
of operations would involve the production of T-shirts and the second phase,
which would begin later in the course of the company's operations, would
concentrate on the production of blue jeans," she said.
Mr. Robert Paapa
Cudjoe, prospective Managing Director of BTIL said the company would begin with
staff strength of 100 Ghanaians from the Presidential Special Initiative
Training Centre in Kaneshie and some 12 expatriate staff from Mauritius and
India to train local staff.
"By the close of
next year the staff strength is expected to rise to about 200," he said.
He told the GNA that the initial investment for the first phase is valued at
about one million US dollars, adding that the second phase would cost more.
Mr. Cudjoe noted that
the old GNTC warehouse at Adjaben was a perfect location for the company,
saying that the place was currently undergoing re-wiring and thorough cleaning.
Dr. Kofi Konadu
Apraku, Minister of Trade and Industry said BTIL was the first fruit of the
African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) initiated by the United States of
America to facilitate trade between Africa and the USA.
He said the USA
formed one major market for the T-shirt and blue jeans to be manufactured by
BTIL. In a related development, the Minister said another Mauritian firm, Le
Confort Ltee, would soon establish a wood processing cigar box manufacturing
plant in Ghana.
Mr. Basheer Jhungeer,
Managing Director of Le Confort Ltee told the GNA that his company has already
signed two agreement with Ghanaian partners for the export of wood, adding that
two more agreements would be signed in subsequent days.
He said he was
looking at establishing a 100 square meter wood processing plant to manufacture
furniture and mainly cigar boxes for the American and European markets.
"My short stay
in Ghana and interaction with the players in the timber and wood processing
industry has showed that it is more viable manufacturing furniture and cigar
boxes here than in Mauritius," he said.
Mr. Jhungeer said he
would visit Ghana in January next year to sign concrete agreements for the
project to begin, adding that it took Mauritius 20 years to develop to its
current level, but Ghana was endowed with several natural resources and stood
the chance of developing faster.
GRi…/
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