President John Dramani Mahama has announced significant progress toward reviving Volta Star Textiles Limited, the historic Juapong factory formerly known as Juapong Textiles, describing the company as central to any discussion about the town’s economic identity.
He made the announcement during his ResettingGhana Tour stop at Juapong in the North Tongu District. Addressing residents at the ceremony, the President acknowledged the factory’s longstanding significance to the community, recalling its role in providing employment and shaping the town’s industrial character for decades.
“No discussion about Juapong can be complete without recognising the historic contribution of the Volta Star Textile Limited, which for many years symbolised good employment and industrial progress while supporting thousands of families and shaping the community’s economic identity”.
President John Dramani Mahama
A Commitment to Restore a Fallen Industrial Giant
President Mahama reaffirmed government’s determination to restore the factory’s legacy through a structured approach involving strategic partnerships, investment, mobilisation and modernisation of its operations.
He noted that this process has already achieved considerable progress, moving from initial planning stages into concrete action toward securing a partner capable of revitalising the factory’s operations.
Strategic Investor Selected After Competitive Bidding Process
According to the President, government appointed a transactions advisor to oversee the search for a suitable partner, following which an open call was issued for strategic investors to apply. Interested parties submitted bids, and government has since selected one strategic investor to move forward with the revitalisation effort.
The President extended a direct message to the town’s traditional leadership and factory workers, informing them that the selected investor would soon visit the site to begin the design process for modernising the facility.
“I wish to inform Togbui, Omama, and the workers of Volta Star Textiles Limited that very soon the transaction advisor is bringing the strategic investor to visit the factory and start the design for modernising the factory”.
President John Dramani Mahama
Reviving Jobs and Strengthening Ghana’s Textile Value Chain
President John Dramani Mahama outlined the broader economic implications of the factory’s revitalisation, framing it as an initiative capable of generating sustainable employment while strengthening Ghana’s textile industry more broadly.
“The revitalisation of this factory will create sustainable jobs in the Juapong area. It will strengthen Ghana’s textile value chain. And it will reposition Juapong as a vibrant industrial hub, complementing our broader investments in agriculture, commerce, and infrastructure”.
President John Dramani Mahama
This positioning reflects government’s intent to integrate the factory’s revival into a wider development strategy for the town, one that connects industrial recovery with the agricultural and commercial investments already underway across Juapong and the surrounding North Tongu District.
Sourcing Cotton From Benin to Feed the Factory
Addressing a practical concern raised during the visit regarding the factory’s raw material supply, President Mahama revealed that government is finalising arrangements to secure cotton from neighbouring Benin to feed the revived operation.
This cross-border sourcing arrangement addresses a long-standing challenge for Ghana’s textile sector, which has historically struggled with securing consistent domestic cotton supplies at the scale required for large-scale industrial spinning and weaving operations.
A Factory With Deep Industrial Roots
Volta Star Textiles Limited, established between 1967 and 1968 during Ghana’s early post-independence industrialisation drive, ranks among the country’s oldest state-owned textile manufacturing companies.
The factory specialises in processing raw cotton into cotton yarn and grey baft, an unbleached, raw woven cotton cloth that historically served as the primary material supplier for major textile printing houses across Ghana, including Akosombo Textiles and GTP.
At its peak, the facility featured the largest spinning and weaving capacity in the country, designed for an annual output of roughly 21 to 26 million yards of grey cloth.
The factory’s industrial activity also gave rise to an unusual local enterprise, as leftover fibres and fabric residue fuelled a bustling roadside pillow manufacturing trade, earning Juapong the national nickname of Pillow City.
Decline and Government Intervention
The factory’s fortunes began to decline in the early 2000s, as rising utility costs, ageing machinery and an influx of cheaper imported and smuggled textiles undermined its competitiveness.
Matters worsened in 2005, when Dutch textile giant Vlisco, then the majority shareholder, withdrew from the company to consolidate its printing operations in Tema. The factory subsequently shut down and was prepared for liquidation.
Government intervened in 2007, intercepting the liquidation process and taking full ownership of the company, which was then rebranded as Volta Star Textiles Limited. Since that takeover, the factory has remained under state ownership, though it has struggled to regain its former industrial prominence in the years that followed.
With a strategic investor now selected and plans underway to secure cotton supplies from Benin, the announcement marks a significant step toward reversing years of decline at the factory.
For residents of Juapong, many of whom retain strong memories of the factory’s role in sustaining livelihoods across the community, the President’s announcement offers renewed hope that the town’s industrial heritage could soon experience a meaningful revival, alongside the broader development initiatives already unfolding across the North Tongu District under the ResettingGhana agenda.
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