German car manufacturer Volkswagen is to set up a vehicle assembly plant in Ghana.
President Nana Akufo-Addo has welcomed this move by Volkswagen as something that will strengthen Ghana’s economy.
At a joint press briefing held as part of the visit of the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, the President indicated that there was an agreement between Volkswagen, the Government and a local company.
This was after a business meeting between officials from Ghana and a German business delegation.
“There are so many areas that our bilateral relationship has offered us, but the key part of it for me is the emphasis on investment and trade corporation,” President Akufo-Addo said.
He added that Ghana was determined to deal with unemployment and stem the tide of emigration.
In addition, President Akufo-Addo stressed that “the stronger the economy we have, the more opportunities it gives to the young people and obviously the pressure that will be on them to embark on those hazardous undertakings will be dealt with.”
“There are a lot of opportunities here, and we are hoping that this business delegation that you have brought with you will see the opportunities that there are in several of the flagship programmes of our government, the One-District-One-Factory, the industrial parks that we are determined to create.”
VW in Rwanda
In June 2018, Volkswagen opened a $20 million assembly plant in Rwanda with the expectation of creating 1000 jobs.
The German carmaker also has plans to co-operate with a local company to establish a ride-sharing service in the country.
The Polo was the first model made at the site and the firm is targetting an annual production of 5,000 cars in the first phase, by also building its Passat, Tiguan, Amarok and Teramont models.
The VW assembly plant in Rwanda has been using components shipped from South Africa to Rwanda via Kenya.
