The International Finance Corporation(IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has announced a $12 million loan to Rider Iron and Steel Ghana Limited to support the company’s construction of a steel manufacturing plant.
The factory which will be sited in Kumasi would help increase Ghana’s domestic steel production and also create thousands of direct and indirect jobs in the country.
In a statement from the IFC, they revealed that
“when completed in 2021, the factory would produce about 240,000 tonnes of steel products annually, using mostly locally sourced scrap steel”.
“The plant will increase Ghana’s current production by more than 75 per cent,” the statement said.
The statement also said,
“the plant would create about 450 direct jobs and generate more than 13,000 indirect jobs in the value chain, mostly among individuals and micro-enterprises engaged in scrap collection”.
The director of Roder Steel, Walid Al Alami in the statement said ,
“This capital injection from IFC is a game-changer, not just for Rider Steel, but for the industry and Ghana. The loan will propel us to help meet domestic demand and support many other businesses along the way.”
IFC Country Manager for Ghana, Ronke Ogunsulire said ,
“We are pleased to support Rider Steel, and contribute to job creation, local skills development, and economic growth in Ghana, especially at a time when the global economy is facing serious challenges.”
the statement said.
“The new plant would operate with an energy-efficient induction furnace, and would use steel scrap as the main ingredient, reducing its carbon footprint compared to steel made from iron ore”,
Increased domestic steel production from the new plant will reduce imports and help conserve foreign exchange by approximately $125 million annually at current prices, supporting Ghana’s balance of trade.
In the past 10 years, IFC has provided over $4 billion of financing and advisory services in Ghana for agribusiness, education, energy, transport, tourism, and other sectors.
IFC, a sister organisation of the World Bank and member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets.
Steel Industry in Ghana
Available statistics indicate that Ghana’s steel industry has an installed capacity of more than one million metric tones.
Statistics also indicate that iron and steel circles, rods, sheets and billets exported from Ghana increased by 108 per cent, representing 3.08 per cent of the country’s total non-traditional exports.
Ghana’s steel industry offers the foundation for real industrialization especially in metallurgy which forms the bases for the automobile and fabrication industry.
Ghana’s domestic demand for steel products is only about 400,000 metric tonnes, leaving a huge excess of more than 600,000 metric tonnes which could be a source of crucial foreign exchange for the country.
