The Senior Minister Yaw Osafo-Maafo Tuesday commissioned a $20 million manufacturing plant for the De United Foods Industries Ltd, producers of the instant noodles, Indomie.

Mr Osafo-Maafo who commissioned the plant charged the management of the company to use Ghana as a launch-pad to penetrate the ECOWAS market.

He said, "The idea of producing our needs locally is very much in line with governments vision of transforming the Ghanaian economy from extraction and export of raw materials to an industrialized economy anchored on value-addition".

According to him, the government has targeted 4-thematic areas ranging from macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability, infrastructural development, accelerated industrial development and agricultural transformation.

The Senior Minister encouraged management of De United Foods to establish another manufacturing facility in the northern part of the country to take advantage of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) which will be fully operational July 2020 to feed Côte d'Ivoire.

De United Foods Industries Ltd is a subsidiary of Tolaram Group and has since 2006 penetrated the Ghanaian market.

Due to high demands, the company has commissioned its plant on the Spintex Road in Accra to draw near to its consumers.

The Managing Director of De United Foods Industries Limited (DUFIL) Mahesh Shah indicated that the establishment in Ghana will not affect the price.

He indicated that the government provided the right environment and opportunity and they grabbed it with two hands. He is optimistic the project will yield to the benefit of the citizens by creating additional jobs and ensuring a high-quality product for the market.

Minister for Trade, Alan Kyerematen indicated that the government’s ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ agenda will consolidate gains when companies establish in the country and thereby bring in foreign direct investment.

The $20 million-ultramodern project will add 150 direct jobs and also will produce 30,000 metric tonnes of noodles per annum and 8,000 metric tonnes of spaghetti per year.