The team will lead discussions and negotiate terms of engagement with the investors
The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has today, August 21, 2026, inaugurated the government’s Negotiations Team for the modernisation of the Volta Aluminium Company Limited (VALCO).
The team has been tasked with leading discussions and negotiating definitive terms of engagement with a strategic partner or investor for the retooling, expansion and long-term sustainability of VALCO, as part of Ghana’s Integrated Aluminium Industry agenda.
Inaugurating the team, the Sector Minister emphasised the government’s commitment to revamping VALCO to make it efficient, profitable and globally competitive while protecting Ghana’s strategic national interests in the aluminium value chain.
He charged members of the team to be transparent and diligent and to ensure value for money, noting that VALCO remains a critical national asset that must not be allowed to collapse.
The negotiations are expected to focus on the technical capacity, financial strength, experience in smelter operations and commitment of the prospective investor to long-term investment in Ghana’s aluminium sector.
The move comes at a time when VALCO is facing severe operational challenges, with the number of active cells declining from 127 in 2025 to about 90 as of August 2026, due to ageing equipment, power constraints and supply chain challenges.
Members of the Negotiations Team include representatives from the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC), the Ministry of Finance, the Attorney-General’s Department and the Chief Executive Officer of VALCO.
The Ministry has assured workers, stakeholders and the general public that the government will not privatise VALCO outright but will bring on board a credible strategic partner to modernise the plant and secure jobs.
Background
The Volta Aluminium Company Limited (VALCO) was established in 1964 as part of Dr Kwame Nkrumah’s vision to use power from the Akosombo Dam to drive an integrated aluminium industry in Ghana.
The smelter, located in Tema, was designed to operate more than 200 pots, with a production capacity of 200,000 tonnes per annum. At its peak, it was a major industrial employer and foreign exchange earner.
In 2008, the Government of Ghana acquired 100% of the shares in VALCO after Kaiser Aluminium exited. Since then, the plant has struggled with inconsistent and expensive power supply, ageing rectifiers and carbon plant equipment, and a lack of capital for retooling.
The process to find a strategic investor is not new. It follows a longstanding policy direction dating back to 2022, when Cabinet approved GIADEC and its subsidiary VALCO’s request to secure a strategic equity investor for the modernisation project.
In the same year, an independent comprehensive technical and financial assessment conducted by KPMG recommended equity investment as the most commercially viable option for reviving the smelter.
In 2025, a 12-member cross-sectoral committee comprising representatives from VALCO, GIADEC, the Ministries of Lands and Natural Resources, Energy and Green Transition, Finance, and Trade was inaugurated to evaluate proposals from interested entities.
The committee was inaugurated in November 2025 by the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, and submitted its options analysis report on January 7, 2026.
In 2018, the government established GIADEC to lead the development of the full bauxite-to-aluminium value chain, with VALCO serving as the anchor smelter.
GIADEC has reiterated that the government has no intention of selling VALCO but will cede a portion of its equity to a strategic investor in exchange for capital injection and the retooling of the plant.
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