The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Bui Power Authority, Mr. Samuel Kofi Dzamesi, has announced that the Authority had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Chinese investors to build a sugar factory around the Bui Dam enclave in the Banda District in the Bono Region.
The factory is expected to be the largest sugar producer in the country, and would produce about 60,000 tonnes of sugar for export and domestic use upon completion.
Mr. Dzamesi said construction work on the factory would commence in June this year, and completed in 2024.
Mr. Dzamesi made the announcement when he took the Bono Regional Minister, Madam Justina Owusu-Banahene, around the project site at Fawoman, as part of the Minister’s two-day working visit to the Bui Dam site.
Madam Owusu-Banahene was at the site to get herself abreast with the operations of the 400 megawatts hydro-electric power generation dam.
“Accordingly, the Authority has released about 13,000 acres of land to the Bui Sugar Company Limited, the investors’ company, at Fawoman in the District,” he said.
The CEO added that the release of the land had paved way for construction to begin, and thanked the traditional authorities in the area for their support.
Mr. Dzamesi said the company had planted about 250 hectares of sugarcane to provide raw material to feed the factory when it starts operation.
He said the project had, so far, created jobs for about 500 locals, and would create more than 5,000 indirect jobs for the people in the area.
“This project is another great national asset, which would open up the Bui area for rapid economic growth, and I wish to express appreciation to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the Banda District Assembly, and the local people for their support and cooperation”, Mr. Dzamesi said.
LOCALS
Madam Owusu-Banahene said she was highly impressed with the project, and asked the company to put in place measures to employ more of the locals to put a sense of ownership in their minds.
She urged the Chinese workers to respect the culture and dignity of the locals to make their stay happy and comfortable in the enclave, since culture and tradition reflected the identity of the people.
The Managing Director of Bui Sugar Limited, Mr. Wet Hua, said the company was still ploughing the land to cultivate more sugarcane to feed the factory.
According to him, the company had also constructed a dam and was building irrigation facilities to improve water supply, and expand the sugarcane plantation.
Mr. Hua lauded the relationship between the company and the BPA and the locals, and expressed hope it would be deepened for their mutual benefit.
The Banda District Chief Executive, Mr. Emanuel Akoneh, expressed worry that the activities of the nomads who leave their animals to graze and destroy people’s farms and crops threatened the security of the district, hence, the need to address it.
He also called on the traditional authorities and all stakeholders in the district to support the Assembly to enforce the anti-bushfire bye-laws to stem the frequent fire outbreaks in the area.
