The 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Secretariat has announced plans to generate over 160,000 direct and indirect jobs.

This follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with ATRI Energy Transition Private Limited, an India-based renewable energy and mobility solutions company.

The partnership, signed at a brief ceremony in Accra on Thursday, forms part of the Secretariat’s broader agenda to anchor private sector participation in Ghana’s emerging 24-hour economy.

Mr Augustus “Goosie” Tanoh, Presidential Advisor on the initiative, disclosed that the projected 165,000 jobs rounding to the Secretariat’s target of 160,000 will arise from activities such as the development of 40,000 hectares of grass plantations, establishment of solar parks, agro-ecological zones, and wider value chain activities linked to energy and transport infrastructure.

He said the agreement was the first in a series of joint development arrangements intended to deliver up to 2,000 megawatts of renewable power into the national grid over the next five years.

He explained that the projects, including solar generation, battery energy storage systems, and biomass-to-power ventures would be developed through a special purpose vehicle (SPV), known as PAX Energy, owned by the Secretariat and its partners, with additional private sector investment expected from ATRI and other partners.

“We are targeting structured, affordable and sustainable power for the multi-economic corridor under the 24-hour economy programme,” Mr Tanoh said.

“Our tariff regime mandates that if the system includes battery storage, we cap the cost at seven cents per kilowatt hour, and without storage, we keep within four to five cents well below the current average of 15 cents.”

He added that the initiative would support national energy self-sufficiency, noting recent surges in peak demand driven by electric vehicle charging and the growth of data centres.

The Secretariat, he said, was collaborating with the Ministry of Energy, GRIDCo, VRA, NEDCo, ECG, and the Energy Commission to ensure seamless integration of the new capacity.

He emphasised the centrality of technology transfer to the programme, with ATRI expected to license its proprietary innovations to the implementing Ghanaian entity.

The Secretariat will also collaborate with institutions such as the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research to ensure that new technologies are locally adapted and incubated.

Mr Sammidi Kishore, Founder of ATRI Energy Transition Private Limited, expressed optimism about the partnership, which would find solutions to the energy sector and create jobs.

He said ATRI intended to deploy its three verticals of biofuel, battery storage, and mobility, ensuring solutions that are socially relevant and economically viable.

“The company will immediately begin work on a 20-tonne-per-day biofuel plant, a 100-megawatt solar installation, and mobility projects including the conversion or deployment of 500 to 1,000 electric buses within 24 months,” he said.

Mr Kishore noted that the venture provided a unique opportunity to harness the agricultural and hydrological potential along the Volta basin for industrial biofuel production and combine solar power with energy storage in rural areas.

The MOU is expected to catalyse further private sector-led investments as Ghana moves towards a competitive, low-cost energy ecosystem capable of sustaining round-the-clock industrial activity under the 24-hour economy framework.