Accra, Feb.5, GNA- A Technological Innovation Centre which aims at establishing a training centre for the manufacture of high precision capital goods and machine components will be established in Ghana soon. The Minister of Trade and Industry, Ms. Hannah Tetteh who said this during question time in Parliament on Friday added that an integrated foundry, metal working and machine tool would also be established. She was responding to a question asked by Mr. Theophilus Tetteh Chaie, Member for Ablekuma Central, who wanted to know whether the Ministry has some avenues of tax incentives for spare parts dealers at Abossey Okai and other areas to enhance their trade.

"The centre will produce precision parts and components of machinery and equipment and assemble the same for subsectors such as food processing and automobile spare parts among others," she said. According to her, Small Medium Enterprises (SME) would have the opportunity to undergo training and rent facilities to produce spare parts which the existing facilities could not produce.

Ms. Tetteh stated that in Ghana incentives were mostly aimed at attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and also for exports to accelerate the pace of the country's development. "Generally incentives are not provided for imports," she said adding that the spare parts dealers at Abbosey Okai and other areas were mostly importers of spare parts especially used ones. On the modification of the procurement law to give fair competition to the local industries, the Trade minister said the ministry in collaboration with the National Procurement Authority (NPA) was developing a training programme to enhance the capacity of domestic private sector.

She said this would include the SMEs to enable them respond to and win bids for provision of goods and services. 5 Feb. 10