The Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) has firmly rejected reports suggesting that the Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO) has been sold, describing such claims as false and misleading. In a statement issued on Tuesday(January 20), GIADEC clarified that no sale of VALCO has taken place, stressing that ongoing processes around the aluminium smelter are aimed …
Ghana:GIADEC dismisses claims of VALCO sale
The Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) has firmly rejected reports suggesting that the Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO) has been sold, describing such claims as false and misleading.
In a statement issued on Tuesday(January 20), GIADEC clarified that no sale of VALCO has taken place, stressing that ongoing processes around the aluminium smelter are aimed at revitalising and expanding the company rather than divesting it.
According to GIADEC, the current initiative involves securing a strategic equity investor as part of plans to construct a greenfield alumina refinery in Ghana and to retrofit and expand VALCO’s operations.
The approach, the corporation said, is designed to attract the capital and expertise required to restore and grow VALCO’s production capacity, increase operational efficiency and strengthen its contribution to Ghana’s industrial development.
GIADEC explained that the strategy entails a partial equity ceding arrangement, under which the Government of Ghana, through GIADEC, will retain significant ownership and strategic control of VALCO, while leveraging private sector investment to drive growth.
The partnership forms a key pillar of GIADEC’s broader national agenda to develop a fully integrated aluminium industry value chain in Ghana, spanning bauxite mining, alumina refining, aluminium smelting and downstream manufacturing.
As part of the planned upgrades, GIADEC indicated that VALCO’s operational capacity is expected to increase from current levels of about 40,000 tonnes to between 300,000 and 350,000 tonnes annually within six years. The expansion is projected to generate thousands of direct and indirect jobs, particularly for Ghanaian youth, while safeguarding the long-term sustainability of the smelter.
The corporation further noted that the search for a strategic equity investor is consistent with a longstanding national policy direction dating back to 2022, when Cabinet approved GIADEC’s and its subsidiary VALCO’s restructuring and expansion plans.
An independent technical and financial assessment conducted by KPMG in 2022, GIADEC said, identified the proposed equity investment model as the most commercially viable and legally sound option for reviving the smelter.
GIADEC reiterated its commitment to transparency and to advancing Ghana’s aluminium industrialisation agenda, urging the public to disregard reports suggesting that VALCO has been sold.
