President John Mahama at the Inauguration of the Diamond Cement Group Plant
An ultra-modern $50 million Western Diamond Cement factory belonging to the Diamond Cement Group, was officially inaugurated in the Western Region by President John Dramani Mahama yesterday.
Western Diamond Cement Limited (WDCL), established in 2015, is one of the leading cement manufacturing companies in Africa.
The factory, located at Bokoro in the Ahanta West District of the region, will produce quality Portland Limestone Cement to serve the needs of builders in the region and beyond.
The Bokoro factory is one of three cement factories by the group, with the other two being Diamond Cement Ghana Limited (DCGL) at Aflao, in the Volta Region and Savanna Diamond Cement Limited at Buipe in the Northern Region.
As a major player in the cement manufacturing industry in Ghana, Western Diamond Cement produces a capacity of one million tonnes of Portland Limestone Cement of 42.5R, 42.5N and 32.5R grades per annum.
President Mahama praised Diamond Cement Group for supporting Ghana’s economic development through the production of high quality cement for key infrastructure projects.
“The $50 million project at Bokoro is a manifestation of the foreign direct investments that the country is harnessing for her economic growth. This gives positive signal to other investors about the country’s conducive business environment,” he stated.
President Mahama was happy that the factory would help provide about 2,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities to the people of Ghana.
“It is anticipated that this project will boost the transport sector as the cement will be transported by road to various parts of the country,” he added.
The president noted, “As the economy expands, demand for cement will continue to grow significantly.”
He commended the cement manufacturing company for using more local raw materials by exploiting local limestone to complement the imported clinker in its production process.
He cautioned the workers of Western Diamond Cement to adopt the best safety practices to avoid being injured or killed by any of the processing machines.
The Managing Director of Western Diamond Cement, Motaparti Prasad, indicated that the establishment of the factory heralded the beginning of the end of cement shortage in Ghana.
He disclosed that the factory produces both the 42.5R and 32.5R grades in line with the company’s policy, to be at the forefront of manufacturing of quality cement in Ghana.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Bokoro