Government’s flagship programme, One District One Factory, which is to create jobs and reduce poverty in the districts is gaining grounds.
Think tank, Alliance for Development and Industrialisation (ADI), says its checks have revealed that the Ekumfi Juice Factory, which is near completion would create 5,000 direct out-grower jobs within the community and its environs.
In a press statement issued in Accra, Convener of the group, Godwin Arthur, said the factory can process about 300,000,000 packs of juice annually for the local and export markets and would generate close to GH¢530 million in revenue.
The facility will be the biggest pineapple juice processing factory in West Africa, with the capacity to process ten tonnes of fruits per hour.
“The Ekumfi Juice Factory is currently the largest Pineapple juice processing factory in West Africa and it has put Ghana on the international radar with regards to the competition of fruit juice products on the export market,” the ADI statement said.
“ADI has learnt that the juice that would be produced at the factory would not be made from concentrate, and also there would be no additives added, putting the product ahead of its competitors,” the statement added.
ADI says it supports the commitment of the chiefs and people to see the project become successful.
“ADI can attest to the fact that the Ekumfi Project would be one of the largest sources of revenue to this country,” the statement said.
According to the ADI, if the government would replicate such projects in ten regions, the country would rake in a total revenue of GH¢5.3 billion a year.
“We again commend the government for the 18 months duration for the construction of this factory. For our records such a thing has never happened in the history of this country,” ADI said, noting similar projects have taken a long time to complete.
“We are of the view that with the district and community partnership, the factory would transform the lives of the people”, it said.
The Ekumfi Pineapple Processing Factory is the first factory to be constructed under the government’s ‘One District One Factory’ project.
The factory is sited on a 50-acre land and has 100-metres length and 50-metres width of factory floor space large enough for additional production works.