Electrochem Ghana has so far invested $88 million into the ultra-modern salt mining project at Ada.
The project covers the provision of a salt washing plant and its ancillary infrastructure and facilities.
This came to light when the Parliamentary Select Committee on Mines and Energy visited the project site last Friday following recent disturbances
The engagement formed part of a monitoring exercise being undertaken on the orders of Parliament.
It would be recalled that the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei-Owusu, directed the Committee on Lands and Forestry and Mines and Energy to conduct a probe into the leasehold agreement that authorized Electrochem Ghana to embark on salt mining in Ada.
Speaking during the tour, Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Mines and Energy, Mr. Samuel Atta Akyea, assured the management of Electrochem Ghana Limited of government’s full support and warned alleged saboteurs to desist from attacking the project.
“I’m using this opportunity to send a note of caution to those who believe that the economic conditions of the people of Ada should not improve when you have a committed investor seeking to improve the livelihoods of the people.
“When they have created a space for the community people to mine salt and further provided a ready market and somebody sitting somewhere thinks he can undermine this undertaking, that is lawlessness and I assure them that the law will take its due process and deal with such characters,” Mr. Atta Akyea warned.
He further added that, “We have engaged all the stakeholders especially with the company undertaking the Salt Mining Project, Electrochem Ghana Limited and we have learned about all the challenges they are facing.
“…For the moment I’m very amazed that here is another undertaking that if given our full support would even rival what we are getting from gold and cocoa. We might not even have to go to the IMF seeking a bailout if we pay attention to the natural resource, salt.
‘What amazes me is that so far they haven’t even done 40% of the capacity of this setup…They’ve sunk about $88 million into the undertaking. They also intend to do some massive export drive that will also rake in some foreign exchange for Ghana”.
Earlier, the Parliamentary Select Committee on Mines and Energy held a closed-door meeting with the management of salt mining firm, Electrochem Ghana.
The committee also used the opportunity to embark on a tour of the facilities at the Electrochem Salt Mining Factory, where they were shown around the salt refinery and other areas within the mining site.
Also addressing the media, the Ranking Member on the Mines and Energy Committee in Parliament, John Jinapor, said the Committee was on a fact-finding mission.
“It is obvious that this is a very very huge project and has the potential of impacting positively on the economic fortunes and activities of the people of Ada and the community.
“So right from here when we go back to Parliament, I’m sure that we will report back to the Speaker and the House in general,” Mr Jinapor added.
He indicated that Parliament ensures that businesses thrive, “so it is necessary to engage all the stakeholders to ensure a more peaceful business environment.”
“We interacted with the staff, we interacted with the management of Electrochem Ghana Limited and its group Chairman McDan. They told us some of their challenges and what they expect the state to do to help them.”
Meanwhile, Electrochem Ghana Limited has denied any involvement in the shooting incident that occurred at Toflokpo in the Ada West District of the Greater Accra Region, which resulted in the death of one person and the injury of several others.
The company added that it is waiting for the police to conduct an investigation into the shooting and report its findings accordingly.
Electrochem is a subsidiary of the McDan Group of Companies. It is the largest salt and chlorine-alkali manufacturing firm in West Africa with a concession spanning 41,000 acres at Ada Songor.
The company which was granted a fifteen-year mining lease to explore the salt resource in the Ada Sangor launched its operations in November 2020 with a target to produce one million (1,000,000) metric tons of salt per annum to supply to both the local and foreign markets.
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