The Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources responsible for Mining, Mr George Mireku Duker, has assured investors that Volta Aluminum Company (VALCO) is lucrative and open to the market.
He stated that VALCO, under its present management, is regaining its former glory, assuring that the government would revitalize the firm and restore it to its former glory.
The Deputy Minister, who led a delegation from the Ministry to VALCO on Tuesday, highlighted how the firm has changed into a desirable package for investors.
“I’m happy that we have people who will want to see VALCO revamped and as a country, it is sometimes worrying that we mine bauxite, export it in its raw form and turn around to import aluminium at a very high cost. That is why the President in his wisdom brought up the idea of upscaling value addition along the value chain by turning the bauxite into aluminium in-country and VALCO is key within these strategic plans,” he stated.
“We are available as a ministry to play our supervisory role and will ensure the company gets to an enviable pedestal,” he stressed
The CEO of VALCO, Mr Daniel Nii Kwartei Titus Glover, gave an in-depth assessment of the company’s situation, noting that despite certain difficulties, the management had achieved some impressive gains
He described management’s strategy for the firm, which is to remodel and expand operations to guarantee maximum utilization of the lines.
“As we stand now, we are not making full utilization of the lines. We were supposed to have 200 but because of the challenges, we are doing 117. The business plan is to achieve between 140 and 150 by the close of the year,” he noted.
Irene Wirekoaa Osei, ISD
