The Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr.Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen, has cited unreliable power supply and the high cost of energy as the main reason for the closure of the Saltpond Ceramic Factory.
Answering a question on the floor of Parliament on what plans the Ministry is taking to revive the Factory, Mr. Kyerematen indicated that high cost of energy caused the ineffectiveness of the Factory, thereby making the cost of production expensive.
Mr. Kyerematen stated that the Trade and Industry Ministry under the National Industrial Revitalisation Programme is conducting an assessment, to determine the relevant operational and financial intervention required for the resuscitation of the company.
Mr. Kyerematen revealed that it is expected that the Factory would be a beneficiary of the Ghana Gas Company Onshore Natural Gas Transmission Pipeline (NGTP), which would pass through four regions; Western, Central, Eastern and Greater Accra.
He reiterated that the Factory’s ability to tap gas from the project would bring down the cost of production, similar to that of Twyford Ghana Ceramics Company Limited located in the Shama District of the Western Region.
The Saltpond Ceramic Factory and it’s status
The Saltpond Ceramic Factory is situated at Saltpond, the Municipal Capital of the Mfantseman Municipal Assembly in the Central Region.
The Municipality has commercial quantities of feldspar at Abonko, Amoada, Saltpond, Otsir and Akorbadze that can be used as enamel for making household utensils, tiles, porcelain, sanitary ware and minor ceramic uses.
The factory was established in 1972 to make use of the clay deposits within the district.
The factory, currently known as Ghana Ceramics Company, was a major source of employment in the area but had been defunct for years after its divestiture in the 1990s.
The company was divested to a Chinese company in the 1990s but the company was not able to sustain the operations of the factory.
The Chinese company has sublet part of the factory premises to Saltpond Packaging Limited, which is producing carton packaging for companies like Twyford Ghana Ceramics Company Limited and Unilever Ghana Limited.
Source: GhanaJustice/S.Ayisi
