$3.8b invested in Keta’s Bomigo clay deposit

An estimated $3.8 billion is to be invested into the development of about 15 million metric tonnes of clay deposits on Bomigo Island in the Keta Municipal Area to turn it into a major industry.

The Bomigo Island project, an initiative of Norris Hill and Partners of France, the Anlo Traditional Council and the Keta Municipal Assembly, will be financed by the US and some Gulf countries.

The proposed state-of-the-art Art and Clay Company will produce hollow bricks, roofing tiles, dinner wares, plumbing fixtures and create opportunities for porters, Mr Fortune Norris Addor, President of Norris Hill and Partners, has told the Ghana News Agency (GNA).

The clay deposits are estimated to last for 50 years, Mr Addor said.

Thousands of homes, vital government buildings schools and a bank would also be constructed under the project.

Mr Philip Thenoz Ceramic Engineer of Ceric Technologies of France said clay samples from Bomigo have good plasticity, that is the capacity to be shaped, but further tests would be carried out in France on its chemical composition, particle size distribution, drying and firing behaviours.

Mr Sylvester Tornyeava, Keta Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) said the project would greatly lift the economic profile of the area and its people.

Togbe Sri III, Awomefia of Anlo, in a statement during a courtesy call in him by the visiting teams said, “The Bomigo project should be a pride to us and a model for other programmes for our vast latent resources”.