President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has cut the sod for the construction of the second phase of a 21-square-meter tile factory at Inchaban in the Shama District of the Western Region as an expression of the One District One Factory policy. The first phase of the KEDA Ghana Ceramics Company Limited was commissioned by President Akufo-Addo 18 months ago has been producing over 14 million tiles annually. The $77 million Chinese investment by the Sunda Group will provide over 5,000 direct and indirect jobs to the country’s youth especially within the operational area of the company. Over 70 per cent of the produce will be sold in-country and in the sub-region. Commissioning the factory, President Akufo-Addo applauded Sunda Group for the initiative and encouraged them to capitalize on the good investment climate to do more. He said it was refreshing to note that the factory has helped the country reduce the importation of tiles by 14 per cent. He stressed that the reduction is significant as it will affect the county’s import bill positively. “Last year the country’s import bill stood at 12 billion dollars. The average has been about 10 billion dollars. Last year we had 12 billion dollars worth of imported materials and of these, the 30 top companies responsible for 56 per cent of these figures, they import things we can do in Ghana and so we intend to begin the process of adding value to our raw materials.” He, therefore, said “the contribution this company is making to the industrial agenda of our country and the transformation of our economy is significant”. The President observed that the vibrant investment climate and also the robust and regulatory regime have made it possible for initiatives such as the KEDA Ceramics to be implemented. Following a complaint by management of the Sunda Group over the incidence of “dumping of inferior goods which affect business”, President Akufo-Addo assured that he will inform the International Trade Commission to help address that. Trades Minister Alan Kyeremanteng, with reference to KEDA Ceramics, stated there is no better testimony of the viability of the concept of the 1D1F. “Can you imagine if one of such companies is all over the districts?” Chinese Ambassador Shi Ting Wang said the KEDA Ceramics Factory has strongly backed the 1DIF initiative proposed by the “Ghanaian government and helped accelerate Ghana’s industrialization”. “As the Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, I will continue to bring more Chinese investors’ attention to this country and require the Chinese companies who are already here to pay attention to social responsibilities and try our best to make contributions in the industrialization process of Ghana.” Chairman of the Sunda Group Yan Chag Shaen announced the intention to add a third phase to the factory. By Eric Yaw Adjei|3news.com|Shama, Western Region|Ghana]]>