GFZA board and management team
THE CHIEF Executive Officer of the Ghana Free Zones Authority (GFZA)Michael Oquaye Jnr. has announced the development of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) targeted at increasing the number of companies in the enclave.
The new strategy, according to the GFZA boss, is to embark on a more targeted marketing by identifying potential businesses or business people, both locally and internationally, and attracting them to locate in the designated SEZs.
“The current trend in industrial development is towards the development of Special Economic Zones, The Ministry of Trade and Industry, which is our parent Ministry, is therefore in the process of developing an SEZ policy,” Mr. Oquaye Jnr. said.
He made the revelation at the media launch of the 3rd GFZA Investment Week Celebration themed, “GFZA: Championing Export-led Industrial Growth in the Context of AfCFTA and World Trade.”
The week-long celebration, to be held from December 5 to 9, this year, will see the GFZA engaging the media and the business community through road shows, one-on-one interactions, interviews and organised enclave/SEZ visits.
Mr. Oquaye Jnr. explained that the AfCFTA Agreement allows goods from Special Economic Zones (SEZs) or Export Processing Zones (EPZs) to export to Africa under preferential treatment if they meet the rules of origin.
He, thus, indicated that free zone enterprises utilising local raw materials from Ghana specifically, or Africa as a whole, could qualify to export under the AfCFTA.
“The GFZA,Free Zones Act will be reviewed in line with the new SEZ policy once it is approved. Hopefully, the Free Zones concept will be rebranded into an SEZ in line with current trends,” he added.
With regards to the development of the designated SEZs, Mr. Oquaye Jnr. said the authority has signed a memorandum of understanding with a private developer for the development of about 1,500 acres of land designated in Yabiw/Shama in the Western Region.
He stated that the proposed investment was estimated at between US$250 million andUS$300 million and expected to provide world-class infrastructure such as roads, electricity with a dedicated power plant, sewage treatment plant, container depot, office complex, and residential complex, among others.
In addition, he said the project, when completed, would lead to thousands of jobs and increased foreign exchange earnings for Ghana.
“So far, the site has been resurveyed, and the legal processes have been initiated to gazette the site as a Free Zone Industrial Park,” he added.
The GFZA boss further explained that the authority would also focus on rigorous monitoring and compliance to ensure that free zones enterprises complied with the rules and regulations.
“As an additional service, we have recently introduced the concept of “aftercare” to provide value-added services to existing free zones enterprises within our mandate, to make their investment in Ghana worthwhile,” he said.
BY Jamila Akweley Okertchiri