The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, has disclosed that government is taking concrete steps to modernise and revive the Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO) as part of broader efforts to drive industrialisation and create jobs.
The assurance was given on January 27, 2026, when the Vice President, Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, paid a working visit to the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to assess its operations and strengthen coordination between the Presidency and the ministry.
Addressing management and staff, the Vice President explained that the visit formed part of a series of engagements with ministries aimed at evaluating performance and enhancing collaboration.
“This visit is one of many we are undertaking to understand how ministries are functioning and how best my office can work with them to deliver on government priorities,” she said.
During the engagement, Mr Buah briefed the Vice President on the mandate of the ministry, the agencies under its supervision, and key challenges he inherited upon assumption of office.
Touching on measures being implemented to address those challenges, the minister highlighted ongoing efforts to reposition VALCO as a major driver of Ghana’s industrial growth.
He revealed that government is actively working on plans to revive the aluminium smelter and unlock its full economic potential.
“VALCO is a quiet lion that can change our country. We have big plans for its revival,” Mr Buah stated, underscoring the company’s strategic importance to Ghana’s industrial future.
The minister’s comments follow the submission of a report by a 12-member inter-ministerial committee, inaugurated in November 2025, tasked with identifying a strategic investor to support the revival of VALCO.
The proposed modernisation of VALCO forms a central pillar of the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) strategy to establish a fully integrated aluminium industry in the country.
According to the ministry, the initiative is expected to boost VALCO’s annual production capacity, protect existing jobs, and create thousands of new direct and indirect employment opportunities, while reinforcing Ghana’s long-term industrial transformation agenda.
Government believes the revival of VALCO will restore the company’s prominence in the aluminium value chain and contribute significantly to sustainable economic growth.
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