The government is planning to establish a 2,000-acre pharmaceutical innovation park in the Osudoku area as part of efforts to reduce the country’s dependence on imported medicines and strengthen local pharmaceutical manufacturing.

The Legon Pharmaceutical Innovation Park, a flagship project under the 24-Hour Economy Authority, is expected to create an integrated ecosystem covering pharmaceutical manufacturing, medical-device production, herbal medicine, and research and development.

Head of Technical Delivery and Design at the 24-Hour Economy Authority, Kafui Linda Abbah Foli, said the project is intended to address some of the major challenges facing pharmaceutical manufacturers, particularly access to land and critical infrastructure.

She said the park would provide roads, water, electricity, wastewater treatment and specialised pharmaceutical effluent treatment facilities.

“The park will provide all this bulk infrastructure facility,” she said.

According to Ms Abbah Foli, providing the infrastructure within a dedicated industrial ecosystem would make it easier for pharmaceutical manufacturers and entrepreneurs to establish and expand their operations.

The proposed park comes as Ghana continues to rely heavily on imports to meet its pharmaceutical requirements.

Ms Abbah Foli said the country currently imports about 70% of its pharmaceutical needs, including finished medicines, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and excipients such as starch and alcohol.

She said the park is therefore being designed to cover the pharmaceutical value chain and reduce the country's vulnerability to disruptions in global supply chains.

The initiative is also expected to support local production of medical devices, including HIV and malaria test kits, which are currently largely imported.

The Authority believes expanding domestic manufacturing capacity will improve Ghana's preparedness for future health emergencies.

“The goal is to ensure that we build a park that will cater for the whole value chain so that when we are confronted by a pandemic like COVID in the future, we will be self-sufficient,” Ms Abbah Foli said.

The Authority has completed pre-feasibility studies for the project and is preparing for a full feasibility study focusing on the design and master planning of the park.

An anchor investor is expected to partner with the government and the 24-Hour Economy Authority in developing the facility.

The Authority has also identified potential tenants, including existing pharmaceutical manufacturers in Ghana and international companies from India, China and the United States.

Ms Abbah Foli said Ghanaian health professionals living abroad had also expressed interest in the project.

She said Ghana was drawing lessons from pharmaceutical parks in India and seeking to attract some companies operating within those ecosystems to establish operations in the country.

The proposed development is expected to go beyond a conventional industrial park.

Ms Abbah Foli said the project would include housing facilities for workers and other supporting infrastructure needed to create a complete pharmaceutical ecosystem.

The Authority is targeting up to 20,000 jobs within the first five years of the park's development.

The park is also expected to accommodate herbal medicine production and research and development activities.

Land acquisition remains a key component of the project, with about 2,000 acres identified in the Osudoku area.

The Authority said it is engaging traditional authorities and communities through what it describes as a participatory land acquisition model.

Under the proposed arrangement, landowners and communities would not only receive rental income but also have the opportunity to become shareholders in the park.

“Aside from paying them their rental income, they will be shareholders in the park. So every year they get some dividends and also get some rental income,” Ms Abbah Foli said.

The model is intended to ensure that communities benefit directly from the economic activity generated by the development.

The Authority also sees the pharmaceutical park as an opportunity to respond to Ghana's changing disease burden.

While infectious diseases such as malaria remain a major public health concern, the country is also recording increasing cases of non-communicable diseases, including diabetes and stroke.

Ms Abbah Foli said the park could attract manufacturers producing medicines for these conditions, helping to reduce Ghana's dependence on imported drugs and potentially easing pressure on health expenditure.

She argued that continued reliance on imported medicines means many of the jobs, investments and economic opportunities associated with the pharmaceutical value chain are created outside Ghana.

The broader ambition, she said, is to build a stronger domestic pharmaceutical industry capable of meeting a greater share of Ghana's medicine needs while creating jobs and attracting investment.

The Authority believes the development could also strengthen Ghana's ability to maintain access to essential medicines and medical products during future global health emergencies.