The quest to eradicate poverty in Ghana by the Ghana Fund is the basis for the careful selection of industrial and public infrastructural projects which the Fund believes will provide a secure and quick route to the macro-economic development of Ghana and the economic well-being of the citizenry of Ghana. Ghana Fund considers good citizenship as a product of sense of national pride, probity, accountability, and respect for law and order. These, it is believed, will lead to Ghanaians respecting the laws of other countries and making themselves very useful, especially, for public safety and well-being.

It is time that Ghana begins to look at alternative resources for its economic growth and independence as against the absolute reliance on the export of primary commodities, gold and crude oil. Ghana requires properly coordinated and managed industrialisation process along with the development of the tourism sector to aid massive and unprecedented contribution to its GDP. It is, therefore, imperative that the country departs from insignificant industry and trade practices that do not make any significant impact on the GDP.

In collaboration with industry players, Ghana Fund will lead the funding for key projects – some of which are at the implementation stage. It will also provide the primary supervision for all projects until each project has attained planned capacity and total investment recovery.

The projects described herein are a selection from key projects, and do not represent the complete investment portfolio of the Ghana Fund. There are, also, some projects that are complementary or auxiliary in nature, but are potentially of macro-economic importance and very important in the development of super industries, which are not mentioned in this script.

The landmark decision to undertake strategically important projects that are critical to the early development of the economy of Ghana and especially managing a very rapid decline in poverty among the citizenry of Ghana, called for an urgent off-balance sheet capital accumulation to provide unhindered financing portfolio to support funding for the various projects that were identified for implementation. Within a 10-year space, it is anticipated that quite some difficulties will be encountered in the financing process, and will, unless mitigated, drag most of the projects whilst some may possibly never be realised. To ensure that the projects do not suffer shortage of funding, Ghana Fund has set up a gold depository as a critical source of securing additional financial resources from the international market. 

Food is one of the essentials that, when not available, increases the level of poverty. Ghana Fund considers food availability and cost as very important in reducing poverty, is gearing for the construction of a 200 million tonne food storage facility and will establish alongside distribution systems that will maintain and stabilise food prices over long periods. It is also expected that food industries will be able to process food at relatively stable prices and retain a fair share of both domestic and export markets.

The Ghana Transit Trade Centre, also referred to as the International Wholesale Market, will be the world’s biggest wholesale market offering perpetual exhibition of goods throughout each year. It will provide a single physical source for sourcing a wide range of goods from amongst goods around the world at exceptional competitive prices. Besides being a customs-free zone, the Ghana Transit Trade Centre will be the only market to offer the lowest prices of all goods distributed through it.

The strategic importance of the Ghana Transit Trade Centre to the economy of Ghana can not be under-estimated, and will be a key economic strength for the country’s GDP growth. The current development will achieve not less than 1,400,000 jobs with 400,000 of these jobs translating into entrepreneurs. Ghana Fund believes that the Ghana Transit Trade Centre will harness the speedy development of industrialisation in Ghana and also open trade corridors with many countries.

The objective of the Africa Overseas Commercial Exchange has been to set Ghana as a major export originator in Africa harnessing a consolidated international trade options for a big jump in GDP growth whilst maintaining substantial presence and dominance in the international market place as a major African exporter.

Trade Missions have focussed on the development and establishment of wholesale distribution centres in more than a hundred and fifty countries worldwide. Trade centres will provide host country citizens the opportunity for employment through the management and operation of the various units. This way, we both win.

The Co-Operative Hospital is an International Comprehensive Hospital dedicated to provide both general and specialist medical services with emphasis on promoting exceptional international medical tourism. As the name suggests, ownership of the facility will be a subject of co-operative participation and principles; all employees at the hospital are, ipso facto, owners and shareholders, and will be entitled to both wages and dividends.

The Co-Operative Hospital will add additional 200,000 hospital beds to the current hospital bed-stock across the country with above premium quality of healthcare delivery. The distribution of hospital beds will be community-based accompanied with all the day-to-day essential healthcare services needed in the communities.

Cost of healthcare is designed to be virtually free to all citizens of Ghana, and will be opened to international medical tourism at reasonably very low costs to persons intending to receive healthcare services at any of the facilities in Ghana.

Ghana’s aviation industry has remained dormant over several years following to termination of the services of Ghana Airways. Various interventions came up to provide some hope for resuming another national airline, but none has been successful. The reasons why it has been difficult for a new national airline or, suffice it to say, a private initiative for the same marking-time are clear indications that a different approach is required for Ghana’s entry into the industry again. Unfortunately, the appetite for public-private partnerships with international dominance in the participation in the business creates a national name and often unprofitable venture.

The survival of a new national airline for Ghana will depend on the level of profitability. Independence in the industry is necessary, and must be associated with the realities of competition in the industry. The question, however, is how will Ghana’s national airline come back as a purely Ghanaian venture and sustained over the long term?

The solution and the action taken by the Ghana Fund, introduces the Ghanaian Airlines. The disappointment, however, is that this airline will not provide commercial airline services, but rather will be a “Members Only” service. Dividing the roll-out into phases, the first phase of the Ghanaian Airlines branded Air-Viator will provide extensive domestic service to both certified airports and unprepared runways across Ghana. Ghana Fund will be involved in the creation of over a hundred unprepared airfields to so as to expand nationwide destination reach.

To be profitable, each aircraft in the fleet for the Air-Viator will fly 400 to 600 hours per month. Small aircrafts will take the centre stage during the phase 1.  Leveraging on the low-capital investment for the acquisition of new aircrafts, low-cost of operating the aircrafts, the ability to get around quickly and cheaply over short distances, short take-off and landing distance as well as the capability of landing and taking off from unprepared fields, 4-seat light piston aircrafts and 6-seat turboprop aircrafts will offer the flexibility to reach almost every corner of Ghana with suitable fields for landing and take-off. These categories of aircrafts offer better cost per litre compared to some saloon cars and SUVs. 

The planned launch of the Ghanaian Airlines will be in the early part of 2025.

Ghana Fund has commenced preparations for the production of aircrafts in Ghana, and is currently at advanced stage of producing 4-seat to 20-seat aeroplanes. It will later in 2026 begin preparations for the production of turboprop regional aircrafts with a choice of 90 to 100 seats and flight range in excess of 3,000 nautical miles. Before the end of the first half of 2025, the first experimental aircrafts will be flying. The success of which will lead to the ultimate development of a superior turboprop regional aircraft which is currently at the design stage.

Presently, Ghana Fund is developing a very strong human capital and is recruiting aerospace technicians and engineers from both the local and international skills markets. It believes that the quality of skilled workers will be an important element in the development of the aerospace industry in Ghana.

Ghana Fund will fund the construction 2,000 km of canals and establish co-operative agricultural estates within the canal corridors. Within the corridors, essential agricultural infrastructure will be provided to support the cultivation of specific cash and food crops. In a planned 2 x 3-tier corridor programme, cocoa and coffee plantations will line-up in tier 1 to provide much needed forest cover along the canals; and in tier 2, specific food crops will be cultivated within a band-width of approximately 500 metres on each side of the canal. Animal husbandry will be promoted in the last tier.

The canals development component of the project will combine carrier and power canals within the main canal corridors, and extend water by feeder canals beyond the canal corridors to provide both primary and secondary irrigation channels.

Additional use of the canal will include their utilisation for fish farming.    

Since water alone may not be the factor for a successful agriculture, the Ghana Fund has included in the programme the provision for greenhouses, insect and weather nets, and protected barns to further guarantee all year production and limited protection against plant and animal epidemics.

Funding for the production of railway rolling stock and railway infrastructure has been arranged for the establishment of railway assembly plant, construction of railways, railway stations, maintenance facilities and a signalling and control centre. Railway infrastructure delivery using technology that will reduce cost of works and at the same time reduce extensively the construction time are essentially critical to the funding vehicle.

The Ghana Fund financing programme for railway infrastructure development will not permit long periods of construction works, and will be limited works that can be completed and open to the public for use in less than a year. A point-to-point delivery programme will ensure that a complete line is completed and usable.

The manufacturing sector will kick-start with the assembly of railway cars and freight vans, and later move to the more complex production systems.

Railway services in Ghana are in two parts, that is, urban and inter-city railways. Both are important transportation systems that are required by different types of travellers. The experience living in a sprawling city such as Accra, not only enforces productivity losses, but also, bring about social upheavals arising from several defects and/or draw-backs in city management.

About 500 km mainly dig-and-cover dual-track railway network to provide seamless urban transportation will be undertaken by the Ghana Fund, and expected to complete fully within 5 years. The Ghana Fund together with its partners will utilise construction technologies that will make it possible for the opening of sections of the railway network to commuters every 6 months until completed.

The routes currently proposed include:

• Accra – Tema – Ashaiman – Adenta – Accra (Circular)
• Accra - Junction Mall – Ashaiman – Afienya
• Accra – Winneba.
• Dawenya – Winneba
• Accra – Amasaman
• La Road – Kwame Nkrumah Ave. – Korle Bu - Accra
• Abelemkpe – Tema (Existing corridor)
• Nsawam Road – Airport

   

The inter-city railway will cover:

• Accra – Asamankese – Kade – New Abirem – Kuntnasi - Kumasi
• Aflao - Accra – Cape Coast – Sekondi – Axim
• Adidome – Ho – Yendi – Tamale – Bolgatanga - Bongo

The Industrial City at Agorxor-Dorfor, when completed, will be home for more than two million persons, and will be a manufacturing centre for light and medium industrial activities. It will also be the location for the Ghana Transit Trade Centre. The planning includes the development of what is likely to become the world’s largest futuristic amusement and theme park sitting over the hilly scape of Kwanyako. Because of the strategic importance of the city to trade and industry, a Class A International Airport will complete the transportation needs of both residents and visitors providing real mega-city experience for all.

The general planning of the city is hinged on modernity and dynamics of mega-city management, public safety and convenience. With the future in perspective, planning for city efficiency in a hundred years to come means bringing the future home today.

The future of Accra will determine the future of physical development of Ghana as a whole. This is based on the premise that when the dynamics of the modern city development and the concepts of cities of the future are brought into play, the re-development of the Central Business District and old cities or communities within Accra provide the direction for both the economic and physical developments of Ghana.

Both the Central Business District and old cities or communities within Accra lack the dynamics of modern growth and the dynamics of the modern city. That said, we would embark on the re-building of the city to become:

 

• A dynamic city that responds to both the present and the future for better living and economic activity;
• A vibrant 24-hour people-centred communities with cultural diversity that creates a true global city; and
• Not only a trading hub, but a city of reasonable living for residents, workers and tourists.

Nima is a famous neighbourhood in the inner-city of Accra, and will be the first beneficiary of the inner-city re-development programme. The precinct is defined by the boundaries of Kanda Highway, Kanda Estate, Obasanjo Highway and Kotobabi Road creating a development area of approximately 4 square kilometres. The Nima project will open up Nima as the prime tourist destination in Ghana and will feature:

• Residential developments that will cater for all income levels without compromising quality of living
• Infrastructure for economic activities including close to a million square metres of shopping space.
• Public safety and security
• Flood and fire disaster prevention
• Congress and exhibition centres, cultural and heritage sites
• Urban transportation and people movers around the community

The Film, Music and Dance Camp is an investment in the arts with the intent to promote these three sectors of the arts as major foreign exchange earners. It will be characterised by training, production, marketing and sale of productions.

 

The industry is designed to facilitate:

 

• Facilitate the entry into the entertainment industry without burdening talented persons with costs
• State-of-the-art and cost-effective production facilities
• Platform for marketing and promoting each person into professional status.

 

The building of factories will be concentrated at the industrial city except for aerospace, railways and shipyard which will each be assigned a specific estate. 

 

The manufacturing programme other than those designated for exclusive estates will be undertaken subject to the following factors:

 

• Factories utilising 100 percent locally available raw materials for the manufacture of goods.
• Factories utilising more than 50 percent locally available raw materials for the manufacture of goods.
• Food manufacturing and processing industries.
• Housing factory
• Automotive vehicle assembly and parts assembly plants
• Other goods that have better potential of distribution across the African region than other imported goods.