Ada Songhor Lagoon land use plan for salt production

Ada Foah, May 4, GNA - The Ministry of Lands, Forestry and Mines in conjunction with Minerals Commission has prepared a land use plan for Ada Songhor Lagoon Area with the vision to transforming it into a major salt producing area in the country.

The plan delineates areas for various land uses with the main aim of ensuring maximum solar salt production on a sustainable basis whilst preserving socio economic cultural and environmental interests of the people of Ada.

This was contained in the sectional address of the Dangme East District Chief Executive, Mr Israel Narh Baako during the second ordinary meeting of the fifth assembly at Ada Foah. According to Mr Baako conceptual plans were considered for critical evaluation as structure plan.

These component were salt industry, settlements, farmlands, aqua culture, tourism and road network.

In this regard, a total of 15,470 hectares of land has been earmarked for salt works at Ada with a potential salt yield of over 2,000,000 tonnes per annum.

Mr. Baako said in the preparation of land use plan for Ada Songhor lagoon, consideration was given to the proposal to carve out the sacred Yomo lagoon for artisanal salt winners, which would not provoke the local people as they considered the Yomo lagoon as a sacred area. Mr Baako said for the successful implementation of the proposed plan for Ada Songhor lagoon project a total of 305.1 million dollars is required for the establishment of a salt refinery chloro-alkah industries.

Furthermore the DCE recommended that the central government should not repeal the PNDC Law 287 as being demanded by land owning clans at Ada, hence prospective investors who have paid substantial monies to land owning clans must be encouraged to form a consortium of Ghanaian investors to go into partnership with foreign investors. Mr Baako said Adas who would be affected by salt works project should be introduced to alternative livelihoods. He later petitioned the government to commission all the studies carried out on the Ada Songhor Lagoon Area for the total benefit of the society and investors.