The Komenda Sugar Factory has been disconnected from the national electricity grid by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and its water supply cut off by the Ghana Water Company (GWC) because of unpaid bills.
Mrs Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, the Minister of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, disclosed this in Parliament on Tuesday when responding to a question posed by Dr Isaac Yaw Opoku, the Member of Parliament for Offinso South, on the status of the factory.
She explained that the factory had suffered technical and operational deficiencies which had hindered its ability to operate at full capacity.
Mrs Ofosu-Adjare said the strategic value of the factory had been undermined by lack of capital investment, deteriorating infrastructure, and weaknesses in the supply of raw materials.
She noted that the machinery and equipment at the facility had not been refurbished since 2016, further compounding its challenges.
She indicated that the government had constituted an Interim Management Committee to undertake a comprehensive review of the factory, to help address the situation.
Based on the Committee’s report, steps were being taken to procure a Transactional Advisor to facilitate the engagement of a Strategic Investor to inject capital and expertise into the factory.
The Komenda Sugar Factory, with an installed capacity to process 1,250 metric tonnes of sugarcane per day, was originally expected to generate about 80,000 direct and indirect jobs.
Source : Access Agric