GHANA GOVT. TO DEVELOP POLICY FOR NATION’s AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY

Ghana President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has announced that the Government would develop a policy to ensure the sustainability of the automobile industry.

He said the policy would involve a vehicle financing scheme to support the purchase of locally assembled vehicles by Ghanaians

President Akufo-Addo said this at a commissioning ceremony of the Japan Motors state-of-the-art Nissan Assembly Plant in Tema Industrial enclave.

He said the government’s policy in the automobile sector has attracted several global car manufacturing brands to Ghana and it was important to continue to develop policies to sustain them.

He said Ghana has become an investment destination for global iconic brands, such as Volkswagen, Toyota, and Nissan due to the favorable industrial atmosphere created by the government over the past five years.

He added that Hyundai, KIA, and Isuzu were other vehicle manufacturing companies whose commercial production facilities in Ghana are almost at the completion stages.

He said these new investments had been realized on the back of the new Ghana automotive development policy, which seeks to offer very generous fiscal incentives and an attractive ecosystem for the automotive industry.

The President assured players in the automobile industry of the government’s support, stating “let me conclude by assuring all stakeholders within the automotive industry of my government’s determination to support the industry”.

On his part, the Minister for Trade and Industry, Allan Kwadwo Kyerematen said Ghana currently hosts five of the world’s six leading automobile companies.

They include Volkswagen, Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai, and the Stellantis group. These companies, he said were iconic companies in their respective countries such that if they established a branch in another country, it attracts other auxiliary companies from the countries of origin.

“When VW moved, other German companies moved. “In Japan, if Toyota moves, if Nissan moves, other Japanese companies will move”, he added.

The movements of these global car giants into Ghana, he said, would not only bring investments in the automobile industry, but also other investments that would support the development of the country’s economy.

On his part, the Managing Director of Nissan Africa, Mike Whitfield, said the new Nissan plant in Ghana is the most modern vehicle assembling facility in West Africa.

Its existence, he indicated, is attributed to the passion and commitment of Japan Motors is investing 9 million dollars in establishing the Nissan assembly facility.

This facility, Mike Whitfield said, would not have been possible without the security offered by Ghana’s “progressive automobile development policy” which has since been signed into law.

The civil engineering work on the 5 000 sqm car assembly factory situated in Tema, was completed in the third quarter of 2021.

The facility consists of four warehouses, testing lines, a special shower bay fed by an underground 180 cu m water tank, a test track, offices, and a showroom area, situated on 22, 407 sq. m land.