Government has released an amount of 218, 827 Ghana cedis to revamp the operations of the Ayensu Starch Company Limited (ASCO) which folded up in 2005.
Out of the amount 63, 894 Ghana cedis will be used to settle cost of about 1, 432 acres of lands that has been acquired by the company across five districts in the country for cassava plantation.
This was disclosed in an interview with Adom Business News by the Company’s Logistics Co-ordinator, Sampson Abbey Armah on Tuesday.
The districts comprise West Akyem, Gomoa West, Gomoa East, Agona East and Awutu Senya.
Mr. Armah said as part of moves initiated by the government to give a face-lift to the company, government released 466,600 Ghana cedis into the project last year at the preliminary stages.
He said an additional 56,506 Ghana cedis was released to engineers for the rehabilitation of machines that will be used for production of the starch.
So far, he said the engineers have completed their work and managers of the company are awaiting certification from the Environmental Protection Agency, Ghana Standard Board, Food and Drugs Board and the International Starch Company to carry out a test and run the company through some processes before the company can begin its operations.
He therefore assured the public that Ayensu Starch Company Limited will soon bounce back to produce starch in commercial quantities for both local and the international market.
He said as part of the revamping strategy, the company has cultivated large acres of cassava to feed the factory.
120 metric tons of cassava is expected to be processed daily for the production of 24 metric tons of starch on a daily basis.
The company is expected to produce 1,440 metric tons of starch within the first three months of operations of the company when it is test running its equipment.
He admitted that inadequate supply of electricity and lack of raw materials were identified as major challenges that led to the collapse of the company, but all that has been resolved.
Story: Afia Kyere/Adom News