Gov't gets $400m Chinese credit to kick-start 1D1F; 22 projects earmarked

Trade Minister, Alan Kyerematen, has signed a $400 million turnkey financing facility with China National Building Materials Corporation (CNBM) for 22 enterprise projects under the One District One Factory programme.

The agreement signed on Wednesday, May 9, 2018, in Accra enables the establishment start of projects for the processing of industrial starch, vegetable oil, garments and alcohol in line with governments One District One Factory (1D1F) initiative.

 The projects are expected to create over 30,000 direct and indirect jobs across the country.

At the same signing ceremony, some local banks who are participating in the 1D1F program also signed on- lending facility arrangements with CNBM in support of the initiative.

At least four local banks have been selected to serve as intermediaries between the Chinese entity and local businessmen and women to execute the projects.

As part of the arrangements, the CNBM will supply equipment and machinery to the business promoters, while the local financial institutions, comprising the National Investment Bank (NIB), the Universal Merchant Bank (UMB), the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) and the Barclays Bank, will facilitate the disbursement of the facility to investors.

President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo inaugurated the One District One Factory initiative in August last year to ignite Ghana’s industrialisation drive.

The One District-One Factory programme is aimed at establishing, at least, one factory or enterprise in each of the 216 districts of Ghana as a means of creating economic growth poles that would accelerate the development of those areas and create jobs for the teeming youth.

The policy aims to transform the structure of the economy from one dependent on production and export of raw materials to a value-added industrialised economy, driven primarily by the private sector.

Questions

The agreement on Wednesday adds to at least five such deals secured by the government for the 1D1F project.

However, timelines for the start of the projects or when the funds will hit accounts in Ghana have not been communicated. 

 

 

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