Moroccan cement producer CimentsAfrique(CIMAF) has opened a US $ 62.9million newly constructed cement plant in Ghana following its inauguration by President John Dramani Mahama in the free zone commune, Tema.
As the sole Moroccan investment in Ghana, with a production capacity of 1 million tons yearly, the corporation is also building an auxiliary paper factory to manufacture cement bags for cement packaging, generating over 200 jobs at the operational stage, and an extra 5000 indirect jobs in cement distribution and transport haulage.
Minister of Employment and Labour Relations , Haruna Iddrisu, said the scheme will add immensely to the construction sector, and employment creation and the growth of the economy.
Iddrisu said more than 1000 jobs were generated at the construction stage and at the operational stage 200 additional jobs were also generated whilst noting that government will acknowledge fair trade practices and competition
“It is the hope of the President of Ghana to guarantee that the International Trade Commission will start work in earnest to ensure just and equitable trade and sanction heavily those who will hide behind export subsidising to undercut local cement manufacture and the local cement industry,” he noted.
He confirmed that apart from direct foreign investment by Cimaf, government is seeking to further to working with them to sustain Ghana’s housing sector.
President of Cimaf, Anas Sefrioui said that 95% of the company will be managed by Ghanaian human resources. “For this reason the company has sent 30 Ghanaian technicians to Morocco for a three-month training course to guarantee the future permanency of the project.”
Cimaf has outfitted plants in various regions of Africa such as Angola, Tanzania, and Senegal, with other plants under construction in Mauritania and Chad.
