BizTech: Watch the state of Komenda Sugar Factory after lease to Indian investors

The Komenda Sugar Factory, commissioned under former President John Dramani Mahama, has not been operational since May 2016.

In September 2018, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo stated that the factory's sale was due to several deficiencies, including the unavailability of sufficient quantities of sugarcane in the catchment area.

In November 2019, the Government of Ghana handed over the $35 million factory to a strategic investor to revive the collapsed facility situated in the Central Region.

GhanaWeb's Ernestina Serwaa Asante, joined by the BizTech team, visited the factory to report on its current state.

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Kobina Tahir Hammond, speaking to Ernestina Serwaa Asante on BizTech, noted that the sugar factory has been leased to Indian investors for about 20 years. The lease agreement is subject to renewal once the contract is signed.

K.T. Hammond indicated that the sugar factory is 100% owned by the Government of Ghana, with investors only managing the assets and paying the government at the end.

“That whole thing belongs to the Government of Ghana. The asset is ours, we are leasing it, and there’s a board in place. It’s a company which has a board. We just put them in charge,” K.T. Hammond said on BizTech.

“We’re not going to have shares in their products, but the company is 100% Ghana-owned,” he stated.

Answering a question on the duration of the lease to West Africa Agro-tech Limited, the trade minister said, “I am thinking of giving it to them for 15 or 20 years with an option of an extension or some sort of renewal after the initial lease.”

He added that the government does not have shares in the products (sugar) produced.

The Minister of Trade and Industry stated that GH¢45 million was expended by the government to keep the Komenda Sugar Factory running.

He said West Africa Agro-tech Limited, the investors of the Komenda Sugar Factory, brought in 1,000 tonnes of raw sugar for a test run to determine if white sugar could be produced.

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