SPEEECH DELIVERED BY THE HON. MINISTER OF ENERGY, DR. JOE OTENG-ADJEI ON THE
OCCASION OF THE SIGNING OF A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE
GOVERNMENT OF GHANA (MINISTRY OF ENERGY), THE VOLTA ALUMINIUM COMPANY LIMITED,
TH
SURAL C.A. AND KENESJAY SYSTEMS LIMITED ON TUESDAY, 13 SEPTEMBER 2011 AT THE
MINISTRY OF ENERGY CONFERENCE ROOM.
My Colleague, Dep. Ministers
The Chief Director of the Ministry
Representatives of VALCO and Sural Group
Distinguished Invited Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press
Ladies and Gentlemen
It is my great pleasure and honour to have signed, on behalf of the Government of
Ghana, the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Government of Ghana
and the Volta Aluminium Company Limited (VALCO) on one side and Kenesjay of
Trinidad and Tobago and Sural C.A. of Venezuela on the other side for the conduct
of feasibility studies towards the establishment of a Downstream Aluminium Project
in Tema, Ghana. I am particularly pleased that Ghana is by this step, feverishly
preparing to join forces with the private sector through a south-south cooperation to
bring to fruition the dream of the Founder of our Nation Ghana, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame
Nkrumah. This dream seeks to fully achieve an Integrated Aluminium Industry in
Ghana. I am happy to observe that this dream can now be aggressively pursued in
the light of our oil and gas find. Ghana, with its bauxite reserves and potential for a
competitive Alumina industry, can likewise become a competitive producer of
Aluminium through a combination of electricity produced from the existing hydroelectric capacity and thermal power plants fuelled by natural gas.
The signing of this MOU signifies a concrete step in fostering the co-operation
between the Government of Ghana, VALCO and Sural. It is also a key step of a
process initiated sometime last year in the wake of the reactivation of VALCO. After a
year’s preparation process aimed at crystallizing this project, the Ministry of Energy
and VALCO visited Sural’s world class facilities in Venezuela. During the visit,
agreement was reached , in principle on the modalities of pushing the project
forward and I am happy to observe that these principles have been adequately
captured in the MOU and agreeable to all parties.
Ladies and Gentlemen I dare not repeat the importance of the project which will
emanate from the feasibility to be undertaken, but I would like to assure Ghanaians
that the objectives and aims of the project, which are; to create both direct and
indirect jobs, establish Ghana as an important transformation center for aluminium,
export high value added products and develop other downstream and support
industries is in line with the development agenda of the NDC-led Government.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press, you will recall that during my visit to VALCO to
officially announce the reactivation of the smelter I did indicate that Government
views an operating VALCO as one of the CRITICAL agents for the realization of the
following aspirations of Ghana:

Serving as an anchor for Ghana’s Integrated Industrial Development Strategy
through Aluminium

Rapid industrialization of the country

Supporting our newly attained middle-income status similar to stories of
countries such as China, South Korea, India, and Brazil.
The position of Government on VALCO, distinguished Invited Guests, has not
changed. Indeed Government still views VALCO as a strategic national asset, and
believes that if properly mainstreamed into the country’s development agenda,
VALCO will serve as the anchor of Ghana’s Integrated Aluminium Industry (IAI) and
hence the country’s Integrated Industrial Development Strategy through aluminium.
The VALCO Smelter has been proven to be central to the success of the IAI project.
It is in the light of this that the arrival of Sural , a world leader for aluminium
downstream technology and products, being the world’s largest manufacturer of
aluminium continuous cast rod, wire and cable and a major producer of cast
aluminium car wheels could not have been more timely.
This Aluminum Downstream Project to be located in Tema will produce Continuous
Cast Electrical & Alloy Grade Rods, Sheets and SANGSTM Automotive Parts that will
create 450 direct and 900 indirect jobs. The Plant will convert liquid aluminum from
the VALCO Smelter into high value added products.
According to the experts, aluminium use in automobiles will continue to grow as
public demand for a greener environment and greater fuel efficiency forces
policymakers to boost fuel economy standards and cut carbon dioxide emissions.
Aluminium has light weight, strength, corrosion resistance and recyclability.
Aluminium has benefited from 30 years of uninterrupted growth in terms of
aluminium content in motor vehicles with an average of nearly 181 kg per vehicle
today. As a country we could not have been more spot-on in considering our oil and
gas find as a key to powering an Integrated Aluminium Industry that can create
thousands of jobs and increase Government revenues for national development.
It is refreshing to note that a core group of operational personnel from Ghana will be
trained in Sural facilities to adequately and safely operate all the equipment. It is the
hope of Government that Ghanaians would be provided with the opportunities to
participate in all roles, at all levels and in all activities relating to the operations of the
company.
I wish to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude for every effort made
to come to this point, particularly, to the members of Board and Management of
VALCO and Sural. I hope that the trust that has existed between the parties will
continue to ensure that the objectives and goals of this project are fully realized after
the completion of the feasibility study.
I believe the Ghanaian Government would on its part create the needed enabling
environment for the private sector to fully participate in the success stories being
created in the aluminium industry in Ghana.
On this note I wish to thank you all for your attention.
Thank you.