By Elizabeth Larkwor Baah
Tema, July 02, GNA — Mrs Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, the Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, says the Tema Integrated Industrial Park will create over 4,000 direct jobs while underpinning Ghana’s new manufacturing policy to boost local production, reduce imports and increase exports.
The project is spearheaded by TDC Ghana Limited, Ghana Integrated Aluminum Development Corporation and Arise Integrated Industrial Platforms under the patronage of President John Dramani Mahama, President of Ghana.
Mrs Ofori-Adjare announced this during the commissioning of the Tema Integrated Industrial Park, describing the project as a major step towards positioning Ghana as a leading manufacturing and logistics hub in West Africa.
She said TIIP was located about seven kilometres from the Tema Port, adding that the 83.5-hectare industrial park had been developed as an execution-ready industrial zone within the larger 2,000-hectare Tema industrial area.
She noted that the facility had clear state-backed land titles, ready utilities and confirmed investor interest, making it attractive for manufacturers seeking to establish operations in Ghana.
According to the Minister, land disputes had long discouraged industrial investment in the country, saying that the availability of litigation-free land at the industrial park removes a major obstacle to business expansion.
As a lawyer with 22 years at the bar, I know what litigated land means; it is a strike to learn that land litigation is the bane to industry, so anywhere we have unlitigated land is a plus for industry,” she stated.
The Minister noted that although the Tema and Takoradi ports handle about 85 per cent of Ghana’s trade, much of the country’s exports remain raw or semi-processed materials while finished products continue to be imported at a significant cost to the economy.
She said Ghana imported more than two billion United States dollars’ worth of machinery, over 1.5 billion dollars in chemicals, nearly 875 million dollars in automotive components and more than 350 million dollars in pharmaceuticals in 2023 alone.
She explained that these figures demonstrated the enormous opportunity for local manufacturers to produce goods that are currently imported, saying that the Tema Integrated Industrial Park was designed to address that imbalance through value addition, import substitution and export-oriented manufacturing.
She added that beyond employment creation, the industrial park would strengthen Ghana’s participation in regional trade by taking advantage of the country’s strategic location and the presence of the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
Mrs Ofosu-Adjare said the cabinet had approved four manufacturing policies that would provide long-term direction for key sectors of the economy, including the Ghana Textiles and Garment Manufacturing Policy, the Ghana Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Policy, the Automotive Component Manufacturing Policy and the National Agribusiness Policy for 2026 to 2036.
According to the Minister, the policies would provide investors with clear regulatory guidance, sector development plans and investment certainty, adding that the policies are expected to attract textile manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, automotive component producers and agro-processing firms to establish operations at the industrial park.
She further disclosed that the government was reforming the Ghana Free Zones Authority Act into a modern Special Economic Zone framework to support integrated industrial parks across the country and explained that the existing law no longer reflected the needs of modern industrial development.
The proposed Special Economic Zone framework, she said, would introduce improved governance, sector-specific incentives and a more competitive regulatory environment capable of attracting both local and foreign investment.
She reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to working with investors and development partners to ensure the successful completion and operation of the industrial park, expressing confidence that the TIIP would become a catalyst for industrial growth, job creation, technology transfer and increased export earnings, helping Ghana build a more resilient and competitive economy.
GNA
Edited by Laudia Anyorkor Nunoo/Benjamin Mensah
Reporter: Elizabeth Larkwor Baah
Reporter’s email address:elizabeth.baah.gna.org.gh