The Savanna Cement Company Limited (SAVACEM) would produce an initial 1000 tons or 20,000 bags of cement per day when it starts production by the middle of the year. According to a geological survey, the potential resource of cement in the mining area was about 34 million tons but the Company would initially produce 19.52 million tons when production starts. Mr. N. Srimvasa Rao, General Manager of the Company, disclosed this to Mr. Stephen Sumani Nayina, Northern Regional Minister, when he conducted him round the project site to inspect the progress of work at the company’s premises at Buipe in the Central Gonja District, at the weekend. Major works feverishly taking place at the Company’s site include: the installation of mining equipment, cement and coal mill, a crate cooler, compressions crusher and their auxiliaries. Mr. Rao said the Company had also liaised with the Volta River Authority to construct a seven megawatts power sub station to run the factory’s production activities at the cost of three million dollars. He explained that only 20 percent of the power would be used by the Company while the remaining 80 percent would be made available for use by the community and other companies, which would establish their businesses in the area. The General Manager said so far the Company had spent over 40 million dollars in the construction of the project, adding that about 100 people were already employed by the Company. He said when full scale production starts about 500 people would be employed. Mr. Nayina, who was highly impressed about the extent of work at the company’s site, said it was the first viable project in the region after other companies such as the Nasia Farms and the Cotton Company had collapsed. He expressed the hope that the establishment of the Cement Company would bring employment to the youth and also make the cost of cement cheaper to enable people build their houses at affordable costs. Mr. Nayina, however, appealed to the people of the region to strive to maintain peace and tranquility to woo more investors to establish industries in the region. Source: GNA