On Thursday, twelfth September 2024, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo commissioned the most important bitumen processing plant in Ghana, positioned in Tema, Accra.
The $40 million state-of-the-art facility is the results of a three way partnership between Ghana’s GOIL PLC and Côte d’Ivoire’s Société Multinationale de Bitumes (SMB). This landmark mission is about to play a transformative position within the nation’s street development sector and industrial development, decreasing reliance on bitumen imports and positioning Ghana as a key participant within the West African bitumen market.
In his deal with, President Akufo-Addo expressed immense pleasure within the achievement, calling it a testomony to regional cooperation and collaboration. He was joined by His Excellency Robert Beugré Mambé, Prime Minister of Côte d’Ivoire, who represented President Alassane Ouattara, underscoring the importance of this partnership. The President emphasised that the plant is symbolic of the sturdy ties between Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, noting that the collaboration exemplifies the ability of shared imaginative and prescient and assets inside the Financial Neighborhood of West African States (ECOWAS).
The GOIL/SMB Bitumen Plant has a complete storage capability of seven,500 metric tons and can course of base bitumen imported from Côte d’Ivoire into high-quality polymer modified bitumen (PMB) and bitumen emulsions. These merchandise are vital to the event of sturdy street infrastructure, providing enhanced efficiency below excessive climate circumstances and heavy site visitors hundreds. PMB, which is produced by including polymers to straightforward bitumen, is understood for its superior elasticity, energy, and resistance to cracking, making it perfect to be used in high-stress areas equivalent to highways and airport runways.
Bitumen emulsions, alternatively, are utilized in street upkeep and development, providing environmentally pleasant options that scale back the necessity for prime temperatures throughout utility. Emulsions present a cheap and efficient approach of sustaining roads, sealing surfaces, and supporting infrastructure initiatives. The power to supply these important merchandise domestically is not going to solely enhance the standard of roads in Ghana but additionally decrease development prices by decreasing the dependence on imported bitumen.
President Akufo-Addo highlighted that the plant comes at a vital time, as his authorities continues to make important investments in increasing the nation’s street community. “Since 2017, we’ve launched into essentially the most intensive street development program in Ghana’s historical past, with over 12,000 kilometers of roads constructed,” he mentioned. “This facility will complement the federal government’s efforts, producing the mandatory volumes of polymer modified bitumen and bitumen emulsions to fulfill the rising calls for of our infrastructure sector.”
The commissioning of the GOIL/SMB Bitumen Plant additionally represents a major step ahead in fostering regional integration between Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. President Akufo-Addo praised the three way partnership as a mannequin for future collaborations inside ECOWAS, stressing that cooperation between nationwide corporations can drive industrialization and financial growth throughout the area. “This initiative demonstrates what we are able to obtain once we pool our assets, experience, and resolve as nations,” the President remarked. “It’s a image of how cooperation between our two nations can function a catalyst for regional growth.”
The power can also be anticipated to contribute to job creation and increase Ghana’s export potential. By producing high-quality bitumen merchandise domestically, Ghana is not going to solely meet its native demand but additionally provide neighboring West African nations, producing overseas change earnings for the financial system. The President underscored the significance of guaranteeing that the plant operates on the highest requirements, producing bituminous merchandise that meet worldwide specs. This, he mentioned, would place Ghana as a frontrunner within the bitumen business within the area.
President Akufo-Addo took the chance to reiterate his authorities’s dedication to creating an enabling setting for industrial ventures just like the GOIL/SMB Bitumen Plant. He famous that the success of such initiatives is proof of the soundness of the federal government’s financial insurance policies and the resilience of the Ghanaian financial system, even within the face of worldwide challenges. He additionally urged the Minister for Roads and Highways, Honourable Francis Asenso-Boakye, to make sure that high-quality bitumen from the GOIL/SMB plant is utilized in main street initiatives throughout the nation.
The President recommended the management of GOIL PLC for his or her continued dedication to advancing Ghana’s petroleum and vitality sector. He lauded the dedication of the contractors, Orsam, in addition to the employees from GOIL and SMB, for his or her efforts in finishing the mission on schedule whereas sustaining rigorous security requirements.
In conclusion, President Akufo-Addo expressed optimism about the way forward for industrial partnerships between Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. He emphasised that the commissioning of the bitumen plant is only the start, with quite a few alternatives for collaboration and innovation on the horizon. “This plant strengthens the muse upon which we’re constructing a way forward for self-reliance and regional integration,” the President mentioned. “Collectively, we are going to proceed to forge partnerships that profit our peoples and promote sustainable growth.”
The GOIL/SMB Bitumen Plant is a transparent instance of how strategic partnerships and regional cooperation can drive industrialization and create financial alternatives, making Ghana a frontrunner in street development and infrastructure growth in West Africa.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Presidency, Republic of Ghana.