President John Dramani Mahama has said that Ghana has overtaken the Cote d’Ivoire as the second largest economy in West Africa.

He said in the recent rankings of African economies, Ghana positioned as the seventh largest economy in Africa.

“And I’m pleased to announce that we have also overtaken Cote d’Ivoire as the second largest economy in West Africa,” the President said in his address when he broke grounds for construction works to begin on a $250 million float glass factory in Shama in the West Region by KEDA (Ghana) Ceramic Company Limited.

“In 2022, something happened that most of us didn’t notice. In 2022, Cote d’Ivoire overtook Ghana as the second largest economy in West Africa. Nigeria has always been the first, with a GDP of about $300 billion.

And Ghana followed with a GDP of around $75 billion.

The President noted that today, Ghana’s GDP had exceeded the $100 billion mark. It’s estimated at $113 billion.”

“And it has earned us our second position again in front of our Cote d’Ivoire brothers. Our economy expanded by 5.5 per cent in the third quarter of 2025,” he said.

“The strongest performance since 2020. Inflation declined dramatically from 23.5 per cent in January 2025 to 3.8 per cent in January 2026. Just over a year ago, our nation stood at the crossroads. Our manufacturing base was under strain.”

He said foreign investment had dwindled to just a trickle, investor confidence had weakened, and the local currency (the cedi) was declining in value.

“And early in 2025, many questioned, including myself, whether we would be able to make a swift turnaround or whether it would take years to rebuild stability and confidence,” the President said.

“Today, I’m pleased to announce that the story is different. Through our reset agenda, we have restored macroeconomic stability. We have revived investor confidence. And we’ve repositioned Ghana as a serious destination for productive investments.”

President Mahama said their fiscal consolidation programme had restored international credibility and reflected in the sovereign rating upgrades by all the rating agencies: Switch, Moody’s, and S&P.

He reiterated these were not just abstract statistics, they were signals – signals to investors, both local and foreign, that Ghana was stable, predictable, and open for business.

He said today, in Shama, that confidence was visible in concrete, steel, and machinery.

The President aside the sod-cutting for a new $250 million float glass manufacturing facility in Shama, also commissioned the modern sanitary ware factory and inaugurated of Phase 5 of the ceramic tile production line.

“This is not merely an expansion of factories. It is a statement to the world. A statement that Ghana is no longer content to be a consumer and important economy. A statement that we are determined to produce, to process, to manufacture, and to export.”

The President said the global float glass market was valued at approximately $60 billion annually and that Ghana must not remain on the margins of this industry.

He emphasized that they must bring some of that value into their country.

He said the new float glass facility had a total investment of $250 million and would rank among the largest industrial investments in the history of Ghana.

Phase 1 of the float glass factory will establish a capacity of 600 tons per day.

Phase 2 will add another 800 tons per day, bringing a total capacity of 1,400 tons daily.

He expressed the hope that they would gather in Shama again in August next year to commission Phase 1 of the float glass factory; that would be 600 tons.

He noted that they would then also cut the sod for Phase 2, which would add another 800 tons per day; that is1,400 tons a day times 365 days a year, which would give the production that was going to come out of the factory.

He said when the float glass factor was completed, it would be one of the largest float glass facilities in Africa.

He said they were going to export glass from Shama to other African countries and to Europe and other destinations.