New Deal With VALCO Proposed

The Government Negotiating Team had resolved to clinch a deal with the Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO) under which the company will reserve half of its output to Ghana for the country’s industrialization. In addition, the team will press for the processing of bauxite from Awaso in the Western Region by December 2003, while the government will also have to ensure that the Awaso-Tema railway line is put in good shape.

Sources in Accra say out of VALCO’s output of 200,000 metric tonnes a year, only 1,000 metric tonnes go to Aluworks, a Tema-based aluminium products manufacturing company and the rest is exported.

Aluworks is reported to have the capacity to triple its output should it get enough alumina products. Alumina could also be used by other local manufacturing companies to produce aviation parts, car engines among others.

The VALCO team is reported to have demanded clarification of the fundamental issue of some of the supposed agreements which were never approved by Parliament but a meeting on Monday will decide whether there will be a deadlock or not.