Komenda Sugar factory: Ignore claims by critics - Spio

Trade and Industry Minister, Dr. Ekow Spio-Garbrah, has allayed fears that the Komenda Sugar factory will not last due to its closeness to the sea, as argued by the minority in Parliament.

The New Patriotic Party MPs in Parliament argued the closeness of the 24.5 million-dollar factory to the sea in the Central Region would mean expensive maintenance cost on the factory

“The siting of the facility is yet not too far from the sea and this could lead to expensive maintenance cost on the iron and steel component of the plant due to the salty sea breeze. This happened to the old plant and maintenance exacted a huge toll on the profitability of the factory," Ranking Member for Trade and Industry, George Gyan Baffour noted.

He argued that in those times the plant had to be shut down every year to allow for the extraction of corroded matter from steel pipes, adding "The factory ought to have been located a bit farther from the coastline.”

But the Trade Minister disagreed with that assertion and referred the critics to the Tema Harbour which is close to the sea yet does not affect the efficiency of the port.

“I have you not seen the factories in Tema who have reported [that] because they are near the sea, they can’t operate efficiently or their tools and equipments are corroding. I mean the siting of Tema near the industrial

Tema Harbour was for a specific purpose…the last concern that I will have expected anybody to raise is [the] so called proximity to the sea.”

Dr. Spio-Garbrah was of the conviction that industries are close to the sea for various strategic reasons.

“I think almost anybody in Ghana knows how close Tema, the industrial city of Ghana is to the sea, do you see how many factories are in Tema?” He questions.

Shutdown claims

He also debunked fears that the factory has been shut down.

“Who says it has been closed down, who announced it has been closed down, I am not aware the factory has been closed down it is still crunching sugar cane as we speak and it is still producing sugar as we speak, it has not been closed down”.