Minister of Trade and Industry Alan Kyerematen conducted a working visit to the Komenda Sugar Factory to check the progress of the factory's rehabilitation.
The visit was part of the government's stated resolve to bring the notorious plant back to life in parallel with its industrialization program.
The $35 million plants, which were funded by an Indian Exim Bank loan, have been idle since the National Democratic Congress took office in 2016.
When President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo addressed a team from the Komenda Traditional Authority at the Jubilee House in March 2022, he provided a strong signal that the plant will be operational in April 2022.
He told the team that the civil works being carried out by Indian investors will be finished in March. to prepare the ground for sugar production
Mr. Kyerematen and Mrs. Justina Marigold Assan, the Central Regional Minister, among other dignitaries, visited the civil works being conducted by Indian investors, in line with the government's objective.
Mr. Kyerematen praised the development of the project and expressed confidence that the defunct plant will be revived to provide jobs for sugar cane producers and the young, reviving the local economy.
He took the crew to the defunct Ameen Sangari Industries Limited in Cape Coast, which had been captured under the government's One District, One Factory industrialization plan and would be refurbished.
Apart from soap and palm kernel oil production, the industry is the region's oldest industrial firm. Teak trees were also used to make electrical poles.
Due to high electricity costs, pilfering, and administrative issues, the firm, which had operated in the Metropolis for over a century, had to reduce its staff to 280 employees.
Mr. Kyerematen said that the firm has acquired a 6.1 million cedis loan facility for equipment and machinery purchases as well as operating capital.
He informed the audience after a tour of the plant that the factory will reopen as soon as possible to provide socio-economic assistance to the people and the government.