Govt to use Pozzolana, local bricks for infrastructure projects to cut imports

The Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government has said it will prioritise the use of Pozzolana cement as part of efforts to use more local content in developing the country’s infrastructure.

According to the governing New Patriotic Party’s newly-launched 2020 manifesto, such local materials would be used more in the government’s “significant investments in public infrastructure development” which covers roads, schools, hospitals, clinics, office buildings among others.

The document said: “Most of our roads are constructed with asphalt overlay or with bitumen surface dressing (BSD), and most public buildings are constructed with cement and concrete materials”, adding: “90% of the raw materials for producing these two primary products are, however, imported, costing the country more than $1 billion annually”.

On the other hand, the document noted, “we have demonstrated the availability and durability of local building materials, including burnt bricks and Pozzolana cement”.

“Several brick factories can be found in the Ahafo, Ashanti, Bono and Central regions”.

“We also have two Pozzolana cement factories in Ghana”.

“Over the next four years, we will actively mainstream the use of these, and other local materials in public sector infrastructure projects”, it noted.