The Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO), Ghana’s only integrated aluminium smelter, unveiled its recovery and expansion roadmap during a working tour by Minister for Labour, Jobs and Employment Dr. Abdul Rashid Hassan Pelpuo, who recommitted the government to the plant’s operational health, worker welfare, and sustainability.
Describing VALCO as “a strategic national asset,” the minister voiced confidence that with government support, particularly on energy supply, the facility can reclaim its lead in Ghana’s industrial growth. He linked renewed productivity to broader efforts in “consolidating macroeconomic stability” and bolstering the country’s competitive edge across Africa, while indicating that “transparency, prudent financial management, and accountable leadership” are vital to protecting state-owned enterprises and public resources.
Acting Chief Executive Officer Dr. Robert Makila Sambian delivered an operational snapshot, revealing potline capacity has climbed from “approximately 114 active cells at takeover” to about 152 amid the reset agenda, despite intermittent technical setbacks. The plan targets overall capacity utilization rising from 23 percent to 40 percent by 2027.
Sambian detailed retooling advances, with equipment manufacturing abroad and consignments already heading to Ghana. Medium-term goals include full potline restoration and strategic scaling, with stabilization expected at “about 150 active pots before year-end,” followed by the final 50 for complete recovery by 2027.
Upon the current administration’s arrival, the plant leaned heavily on rented heavy-duty equipment for core functions, a setup management labeled “financially unsustainable.” In response, VALCO has acquired essential logistics and operational gear, including new lift trucks, payloaders, dump trucks, melting furnaces, and centrifuge systems. These capital outlays, unprecedented in the plant’s recent history, aim to sharpen efficiency and trim long-term expenses.
As production ramps up steadily, leadership expressed optimism that a robust foundation for sustainable recovery is now in place. “We have prepared the plant for the next phase of growth,” Sambian stated, adding that “the foundation today is stronger than it has been in decades.”
