Accra, May 21, GNA - The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) on Monday signed a contract with PMC Global Incorporated, an American Multinational Corporation for the commercial production of Pozzolana, a cement complement invented by the CSIR since the 1990s.

According to the agreement CSIR would be given a seed money of 150,000 dollars to expand the pilot plant for the production of the pozzolana at the Building and Road Research Institute, while the multinational company completed other agreements pertaining to land acquisition for the building of its own plant.

After the construction of the plant, PMC would take over the license and exclusive production of the Pozzolana for an initial five-year term. Pozzolana, invented and researched into by Dr Alex Ampem Hammond, who died ten years ago, during his PHD thesis to the CSIR would be brought to the marketplace within the next six months and expected to be a key component in the strategy to resolve the difficulties in supplies. The agreements were signed by Professor Emmanuel Owusu-Bennoah, Director-General CSIR and Mr Steven G. Cohen, Vice President, PMC Global Incorporated on behalf of their organisations.

Congratulating the CSIR for its achievement in attracting a foreign investor to help bring its products to the market, Papa Owusu-Ankomah Minister of Education Science and Sports said a lot of Ghanaians were looking up to the scientists to lead the way in transforming the country into the much expected middle-income nation.

"Ghana is looking hard at its scientists and technologist for blockbuster inventions that can be turned into investment opportunities in the order of what we see here today," he said. Mr Owusu Ankomah said information reaching him indicated that pozzolana had the potential of becoming a 100-million dollar a year product within a few years.

"The royalty stream from that alone should make a significant contribution to the funding of science and technology research in Ghana," he said.

Mr Owusu- Ankomah said, "to attain our middle-income country goals, we will need to attract a minimum of two billion dollars in foreign direct investment annually".

The strategy to attract such an investment, he said, was a world-class applied science and technology research establishment that was capable of producing a steady stream of patentable inventions. Ghana's CSIR, the Minister noted, had the potential to fulfil such a role and it could be a force to reckon with in creating the appropriate technology needed for Africa's development given the appropriate support.

He appealed to the CSIR to make its applied science and technology research more market sensitive to appeal to other foreign investors the likes of PMC Global Incorporated. "We need to create new incentives for our research organisations to hasten the passage of market-worthy ideas from the laboratory to the market.

"It is in the creation of a virtuous cycle of research and commercialisation that we can hope to become a middle-income country based on sustainable home-grown big ideas and market-savvy execution," he said.

Assuring the leaders of PMC Global that President Kufuor was following the development keenly, Mr Owusu-Ankomah said every effort would be made to ensure the success of the project. Prof Owusu-Bennoah said today's contract was a clear example of the kind of contribution research and development could make to the nation's development efforts.

The production of Pozzolana to the market, he noted, would bring many benefits to the economy including the creation of jobs, income for the raw material producers, affordable housing for workers and reduced government expenditure on the provision of schools and other infrastructure among others.

He announced that the CSIR Food Research Institute had developed glucose syrup from cassava starch, adding, "This product would create a domestic demand for cassava starch and generate income for our rural folks".

Prof Owusu-Bennoah called for support for the CSIR saying, "such support would enable the CSIR generate other landmark products and services that will assist the regeneration and redirection of the national economy towards the achievement of the Millennium Goals and beyond". Mr. Cohen said the project, would provide PMC Global with the opportunity to operate in Africa although it had been operating in Europe and Asia for many year.