The production of the first ethanol plant in Ghana is set to begin, Caltech Ventures a cassava cropping and processing company at Hodzo, in the Volta Region is to begin the production. The production of the cassava-derived ethanol is to start by March this year.Ghana currently imports 60 million litres of ethanol yearly.Mr Chris Quarshie, Managing Director of Caltech Ventures, said this while briefing Ekwow Spio- Garbrah, Minister of Trade and Industries, who was on a familiarisation tour of facilities under his ministry in the Volta Region.
All is set, with a crack Ghanaian
team of fabricators working for Memot Fabrication Engineering putting
finishing touches to the columns and large steel storage tanks for test
running of the plant to begin anytime soon.
Mr Quarshie said the waste from the
process would be used to generate electricity and make fodder for animals.
He said only 400 of its 3,000
hectare land is under cultivation. This is to be scaled up to 1,000 hectares by
close of year.
Dr Kwabena Adjei, Group Chairman of
Kasapreko, said along with its out-growers, Caltech Ventures could change the
economic profile of Hodzo and its environs.
He said Caltech Ventures is going
into a partnership to produce 20 tonnes of starch yearly.
Dr Spio-Garbrah expressed
excitement about what Caltech Ventures is doing, observing that root crops are
potential major export products for the country.
He said the region has a huge
untapped potential.
source: myjoyonline.com
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