Minister for Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen has commended the management and staff of indigenous company, Dzata Cement for creating an eco-friendly environment at its bagging plant.

According to him, the investment pumped into the company for the first of the three phase US$100 million project has the potential to create high skilled jobs for the teeming Ghanaian youth.

Addressing journalists after an inspection of Dzata Cement’s bagging plant in Tema on Monday May 10, 2021, the trade minister noted that indigenous investment was the main driver to propel economic growth of a country.

“I must say this is a remarkable investment and I say that for reasons which pertain to the cement industry being dominated by global foreign companies and this is the first indigenous investment made in the cement industry which is wholly Ghanaian owned and that is very significant.”

“I think that this particular investment in Dzata Cement has the potential to pave the way for high skilled jobs for Ghanaians in a much eco-friendly environment because every year, 300,000 people graduate from our tertiary institutions and our goal is to identify job opportunities for them,” the minister added.

The Dzata Cement plant has the capacity to produce an average of 120 bags per minute from the two production lines for its first phase.

The cement grade being produced by the plant is ordinary Portland cement, which is imported for the plant and then bagged.

Managing Director of Dzata Cement, Philip Nana Archer in his remarks said the company's aim is to move from a current production capacity of 1.2 million metric tonnes to 3 million metric tonnes in a few years to come.