Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC), Reindorf Twumasi Ankrah, has clarified the government’s position on the ongoing land dispute involving the proposed aluminium industrial park.

He said this during an appearance on Asempa FM’s Ekosiisen show on Monday, 9 February 2026.

Mr Ankrah emphasised his role as a public servant, acting under the directive of President John Dramani Mahama and his administration.

“If the government outlines a programme and says that I am in charge, then it is my duty—however onerous—to ensure that it is carried out,” he said.

He explained that the industrial park initiative was inspired by a similar project the President observed abroad and is intended to be replicated in Ghana.

Addressing the controversy over land ownership, Mr Ankrah clarified that the Tema Development Corporation (TDC), a government-established entity in 1962, holds legal title to the land in question.

He traced the acquisition to an Executive Instrument in 1954, when the colonial administration took over the land and vested it in TDC—long before the establishment of the Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO).

“There are documents indicating that, for VALCO to even enter the land, they obtained a right of entry from TDC,” he noted.

In April 2017, VALCO formally requested a renewal of its expired lease from TDC. The matter was eventually resolved by granting VALCO rights only to the portion where its plant was situated, excluding the remaining land.

By October 2024 or 2025, TDC had formally informed VALCO that the surplus land had been repossessed.

On this basis, Mr Ankrah approached TDC to request that the land be made available for the industrial park. “GIADEC, as the regulator, together with the company, can enter into a strategic partnership to develop a portion of the land strictly for aluminium-related activities,” he said.

He further stated that there exists a “strong rebuttable presumption” in favour of TDC’s ownership of the land and urged any party disputing this claim to provide documentary evidence. To date, he said, no such evidence has been presented.

Mr Ankrah confirmed that he, the TDC Managing Director, and the company’s representative conducted a site inspection last Sunday, with preparatory work ongoing.

The portion earmarked for development spans between 122 and 127 hectares, considerably smaller than the 7,550-hectare industrial park in Benin, which served as the model for the project.

On employment prospects, he said the project aims to create at least 10,000 direct jobs, predominantly for young people aged 20 to 35.

While smaller in scale than the Benin project, which provides over 30,000 direct jobs across three shifts, the Ghanaian initiative is expected to make a significant impact on youth employment in the sector.