Jute factory rehabilitation works progressing steadily
Rehabilitation works on the Kumasi Jute Mills Ltd, is steadily progressing. So far, refurbishment works on the administration block and fencing of the factory have been completed.
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The management of the factory has also taken an inventory of the Mills’ machinery and has placed an order for spare parts needed to repair machines that have broken down.
The General Manager of the factory, Mr Alakesh Karmakar, said in spite of the huge investment outlay, the factory still needed an additional $20 million dollars more to make it fully functional.
Already, he said, an amount close to GH¢27 million had been sunk into rehabilitating the factory.
Visit
Mr Karmakar disclosed this when members of the Board of Directors of COCOBOD led by its chairman, Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyemang, paid a familiarisation visit to the factory last Friday.
He said even though most of the machines were old, they were still usable, adding that the company had placed orders with an Indian firm for the supply of replacement parts.
He said the factory had the potential of providing jobs for more than 2,000 people, as well as the capacity to produce 20 million jute sacks annually.
Board chairman
For his part, Mr Owusu-Agyemang, urged the management of the Mills to work hard to rescue the factory and give meaning to the huge investments government had sunk into the facility.
He said the board was ready to support the factory in every way possible to ensure that it became functional again.
He said when the factory starts working it would save the country a lot of money in foreign exchange since the country would no longer import sacks for bagging cocoa.
Besides, he said, it would also create direct and indirect jobs for people in and around Kaase and would lead to a reduction in unemployment in the country.
According to him, “we will not let any investment made by the government to go waste. We will work to ensure it succeeds.”
He said the board undertook the visit to observe at first hand work that had been done so far, as well as what would be required to speed up the work processes.