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Mr. Kyeremanten, the Trade Minister, made the remarks during a working visit to the Dzata Cement Limited Plant early in May 2021. Mr. Ibrahim Mahama’s 100 million-dollar cement plant investment is located on a 10-acre land near the Tema Port. . 

The Minister's visit allowed him to get first-hand information on the cement-producing plant and the progress of works on the cement production facility. During the visit, the Minister was informed that the technology being deployed to produce cement at the plant is German and was developed by Haver and Boecker. 

Nonetheless, the cement plant is wholly managed by Ghanaians, and the grade of cement produced by the plant is ordinary Portland cement. The plant can produce an average of 120 bags of cement per minute from its two production lines. 

Speaking at the site, the Minister said that global foreign companies had previously dominated the cement industry. However, Dzata Cement Limited came to change the game. He stated that the government appreciated foreign investment capital. However, the government also recognized that no country had achieved quality growth without supporting their indigenous entrepreneurs. 

Speaking further, the Minister said, “That is why l think this particular investment should pave the way for investments in industries which otherwise have been dominated only by foreign companies.” He explained that this cement facility would create high skilled jobs for Ghanaians and contribute to more job creation. 

He encouraged the management of Dzata Cement to use local materials and create sustainable job opportunities for Ghanaians. He also urged them to take advantage of opportunities that the ECOWAS and AfCFTA markets offered. This would enable them to develop and grow the company and continue contributing to the Ghanaian economy. 

Thank You Ghana 🇬🇭 for welcoming us to your projects. 🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/zmfPEHfZ5w

— Dzata Cement 🇬🇭 (@Dzata_Cement_GH) August 28, 2021

Nana Philip Archer, the Managing Director of Dzata Cement, explained that Phase I of this cement plant had a two-line re-bagging installed capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per annum using jumbo bags of imported bulk cement. Phase II will have a capacity of 2.4m tonnes per annum using imported bulk Portland cement. Phase III will involve manufacturing and bagging using two vertical grinding mills, each with a three million-tonne capacity. 

The Managing Director also explained that the working environment at the facility is eco-friendly, although it’s a cement production factory. 

Dzata Cement will be the 2nd bagging plant, the 12th plant in the cement industry in Ghana. It will provide consumers with an additional choice on where to source cement. The other 11 cement plants include nine grinding plants, one integrated pant (Savannah Diamonds) and one integrated plant (Dangote).

The Minister said that the Export and Import (Restrictions on Importation of Portland Cement) Regulations, 2016 (L.I 2240) was passed to safeguard and protect the domestic cement industry against import surges of Portland cement. This regulation requires that all commercial importation of Portland cement outside the ECOWAS region be covered by a permit or license from the Ministry. The regulation states that an applicant for a permit to import Portland cement for re-bagging must provide elaborate plans to undertake cement production in the country. These plans must also include the state of the factory being constructed (section (4.0) (a-d) of the Second Schedule of LI 2240). 

Top Photo: Stock Image - Cement Plant with Silos and Trucks (Jan Kranendonk | Dreamstime)