The Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) has secured strategic investors for the modernisation of the Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO) and the construction of an alumina refinery, marking a significant step in Ghana’s industrialisation agenda.

In November 2025, an investor selection committee was inaugurated by the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah.

The committee, tasked with evaluating proposals received by GIADEC, on Tuesday, January 7, submitted its options analysis report to the Minister.

Speaking at the meeting to formally hand over the report, the Minister expressed profound gratitude to the committee for its dedication and diligence, stressing that he had no doubt the 12-member body had done a sterling job.

He described the alumina refinery and the modernisation of VALCO as cornerstone projects aimed at transforming Ghana from a bauxite raw material-exporting economy into one that processes and adds value locally.

“These two projects are interdependent and mutually reinforcing,” he said. “The refinery will feed the smelter, the smelter will anchor downstream aluminium manufacturing, and together they will drive the growth of industrial clusters supported by logistics, power, rail, and port infrastructure.”

The Minister expressed optimism that the selected investors would bring the requisite funding, expertise, and technology to place the country firmly on an industrial development path.

He added that the construction of an alumina refinery is critical to the development of an Integrated Aluminium Industry (IAI) and expressed satisfaction that companies were willing to partner with GIADEC and Ghana on this transformation journey.

On the modernisation of VALCO, the Minister urged the selected investor to commence work immediately in 2026 and scale up production from 40,000 to at least 200,000 tonnes per year by the end of 2028.

He emphasised that securing an equity investor is pivotal to both VALCO’s survival and the growth of the aluminium industry, adding that a fully operational VALCO would provide a minimum of 6,000 direct jobs for Ghanaian youth.

The committee, through its co-chairpersons, Mr. Augustus Amegashie and Prof. George Armah, thanked the Minister for the opportunity to serve and commended committee members, including representatives from VALCO, GIADEC, and the Ministries of Finance, Trade, Energy, and Lands and Natural Resources, for their meticulous work.

They explained that the committee adopted a rigorous two-stage evaluation approach. This included a detailed qualitative assessment using a Decision Matrix and SWOT analysis based on formal evaluation criteria outlined in the terms of reference.

The process involved an initial screening for substance, credibility, and strategic fit, followed by in-person interviews to verify documents and claims as enhanced due diligence.

The assessment focused on five pillars: financial capacity, technical competence, sustainable power solutions, environmental and social stewardship, and robust governance to protect shareholder interests.

The co-chairpersons noted that the committee’s work builds on efforts by successive governments to address structural challenges confronting the Integrated Aluminium Industry, particularly those affecting VALCO since its transition to full state ownership.

They recalled that in 2022, the Cabinet approved a plan to engage a majority equity investor to modernise and expand the facility, warning that without the strategic intervention advocated at the time, the entity faces accelerated and terminal decline.

They concluded that a copy of the report has been formally referred to the GIADEC Board for further action, in line with the Terms of Reference and the GIADEC Act, and urged Government to provide the necessary support to ensure immediate commencement of work, particularly on VALCO, to generate significant employment opportunities for the youth.

The Chief Executive Officer of GIADEC, Mr. Reindorf Twumasi Ankrah, reaffirmed the corporation’s commitment to supporting Government’s objective of establishing a fully functional aluminium industry that creates thousands of jobs and positions Ghana as a major player in the global integrated aluminium business. He stressed that all hands must be on deck to ensure President John Dramani Mahama’s reset agenda is fully realised within the Integrated Aluminium Industry.

Present at the event were the Chairperson and members of the governing board of GIADEC.

GIADEC, in line with its statutory mandate, has developed a Master Plan to guide the future of the Integrated Aluminium Industry.

As part of the plan’s implementation, four projects were approved by Cabinet in 2020, with the modernisation and retrofit of VALCO and the construction of an alumina refinery designated as Projects 3 and 4.

Cabinet subsequently granted a “no objection” approval for the identification and engagement of a strategic partner for the VALCO modernisation project, Project 4 of the Integrated Aluminium Industry initiative.