President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has commissioned the Second Phase of the Sinotruk vehicle assembly plant in Tema, in the Greater Accra Region.
At the same time, the President also broke ground for the commencement of work on the Third Phase of the Sinotruk Project.
When completed, the vehicle assembly plant would become a fully integrated automobile manufacturer in Ghana that can supply its assembly lines with domestically manufactured components and parts.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremony on Tuesday, President Akufo-Addo said the completed second phase of the Sinotruk vehicle plant and the beginning of the third phase of expansion is a testament to the company’s confidence in the Ghanaian economy as well as the growing truck assembly business in the country.
Whilst expressing the government’s gratitude for Sinotruk’s forward-looking vision, the President assured the company of the government’s commitment to continuously support the development of a business-friendly environment for the growth of the sector.
That commitment, according to him, “is seen in the government’s vision and creation of structured programmes for achieving industrial transformation, through a supportive incentive framework for a company such as Sinotruk to become a prominent, domestic assembler of trucks and a major player in the haulage, construction and distribution sub-sectors of the economy.”
President Akuffo-Addo remarked, “When I first visited the Kpone-Katamanso Plant on Thursday, 30th August 2020, I recall how impressed I was with the effort to develop this facility for the assembly of heavy-duty and light trucks in Ghana for the domestic and regional market.
“I also recall the promise made to me by Madam Yang Yang, the dynamic and hardworking Managing Director of Sinotruk, that she, together with her partners, is committed to building a world-class facility for the assembly, in Ghana of heavy-duty trucks for the West African market.”
Three years later, President Akufo-Addo said, “With the completion of this second phase and the commitment to investing further in a third phase, the fulfilment of his vision is almost accomplished.”
He maintained that establishments such as Sinotruk have demonstrated how companies in the import and distribution chain had taken advantage of strategic interventions, such as the 1-District-1-Factory initiative, to transition from being importers and distributors of trucks to establishing assembly plants for both domestic and export markets.
The new Sinotruk Assembly Plant would increase its current annual production capacity from 850 trucks to some 3,000 heavy-duty and light-duty trucks, including tipper trucks, wheel loaders, backhoes, trailers, semi-trailers, oil tankers as well as a variety of light-duty vehicles, assembled from semi-knocked down kits, which adhere to international standards of quality and safety.
Additionally, the new assembly plant will double its employment capacity, from 356 to 700, and create 1,000 indirect employment opportunities.
President Akuffo-Addo said the unique feature of Sinotruk’s operation is the state-of-the-art training centre, established to train artisans in the application of appropriate technology and skills to build their capacities in the processes of assembly, repair and maintenance.
Despite the challenges confronting the manufacturing sector, President Akufo-Addo was optimistic that the government’s determination to restore macroeconomic stability and return the country’s economy onto the path of sustained growth, would benefit the private sector, especially those in manufacturing and commerce, particularly with reduction of the cost of doing business.
Rex Mainoo Yeboah, ISD
