President John Dramani Mahama has announced that Ghana’s annual steel demand is estimated at over 1.2 million metric tonnes.
He noted that this was largely driven by construction, energy, mining, and manufacturing sectors.
He said this while commissioning the B5 Plus LTD Steel Manufacturing Plant on Friday, February 20. President Mahama highlighted steel consumption as a key measure of industrial growth.
“Across emerging economies, per capita steel consumption rises in tandem with infrastructural development, urbanisation, and industrial expansion,” he said.
He went on to state that the expansion of the B5 Plus facility will help strengthen domestic production, reduce reliance on imports, and protect the country from global price volatility.
“The expansion of this facility strengthens domestic capacity to substitute those imports, save foreign exchange, improve our trade balance, stabilise supply chains, and reduce exposure to global price swings,” he added.
The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, stated that the plant marks a shift from exporting raw materials to local processing and manufacturing, aligning with the government’s industrialisation agenda.
He noted Ghana’s development has focused on extracting minerals like iron ore, manganese, and gold rather than adding value.
“Today is not just the opening of a factory. It is the commissioning of confidence, capacity and Ghana’s industrial destiny,” he stated.
“For too long, our national conversation has centred on extraction. But today, we celebrate transformation,” he said.
He noted that the newly commissioned Steel Ball Mill and Section Mill plant will enable the country to process raw materials locally, create jobs and strengthen its industrial base.
The project aligns with government policies, including the 24-Hour Economy strategy and import substitution policy.
Mr Buah emphasised the need for responsible and sustainable industrial growth, stressing that ‘the future of industry is green industry’. He also called for structured training partnerships between industry and technical universities to deepen Ghana’s metallurgical and industrial engineering skills.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana