Government is in talks with the Brazilian
government to finalise a US$1billion master facility agreement for development
of the country’s infrastructural sector.
The
facility is expected to help tackle Ghana’s wide infrastructure gap with
specific attention given to the energy, road and housing sectors.
Brazilian Ambassador to Ghana Irene Vida Gala
revealed this while speaking in
Accra at
a pre-departure conference for
a Ghanaian trade and investment delegation to Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paolo in
Brazil to explore business opportunities. The trade mission is being
spearheaded by the World Trade Centre, Accra, a member-body of the global World
Trade Centres Association (WTCA).
“Ghana is
critically looking for available facilities to grow its infrastructure sector, and
has realised that the Brazil government can be part of that development agenda,”
she said.
According to data available from the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre,
Brazil was the biggest foreign direct investor in 2013, with its investment
into the economy valued at US$200million.
Brazil as well provided a total of US$4.6million in concessionary loans
in 2013 to boost the country’s economy, while US$350million is expected in
2014.
Brazil’s presence in the country is already increasing, as projects such
as the development of the Accra Airforce Base, Kwame Nkrumah Circle, Tamale
Airport, and tranches five and six of the Eastern Corridor Project are well underway.
Others include the construction of a cashew nut processing plant in
Prampram, rice production in Sogakope, and the upcoming renovation of the
Kumasi Central Market.
Ms. Gala explained that trade between the two countries
has been surging over the years. From 2002 to 2013, Brazil’s exports
to Ghana surged by 515 percent while imports from
Ghana jumped by 235 percent.
Brazil’s exports in 2013 were valued at US$296.07 million,
with sugar
and chicken as the main products, while it imported approximately
US$63.4 million from Ghana, with cocoa and cashew
nuts as the major traded commodities.
Recounting
the bilateral relation between the two countries, Ms. Gala said the two nations
have enjoyed very cordial long-standing diplomatic relations over the years, adding
that “it underscores the reason of presenting Ghana to Brazilians in a way that
will be appropriate.
“Brazil
has a lot of companies operating in Ghana and has enormous experience in the
area of construction, more specifically the affordable housing sector. This is
the time for Ghanaian businesses to explore in the other direction,” she said.
Togbe
Afede XIV, board chairman of the World Trade Centre, Accra, and leader of the trade
and investment delegation, said it is very timely that the trade mission is
exploring business opportunities in Brazil.
This, he
said, puts a lot of responsibility on the delegates to tell the Ghanaian story very
well.
He said Ghanaians
have good potential for a win-win collaboration with their Brazilian
counterparts, and that the country should not be seen as just any other African
country.
Togbe
explained that the trade mission is targetted at consolidating bilateral
relations between the two countries while attracting investment opportunities
for development of the private sector.
The mission includes companies
interested in exploring business opportunities in a broad spectrum of economic
sectors; particularly information technology, energy, agriculture and
infrastructure.
Other areas of interest include auto-parts,
aviation, construction, oil and gas, real-estate, textiles and transportation.
There will also be business-to-business
meetings with Brazilian companies including JBS Friboi, Queiroz Galvao, Sabo
and Stafanini.
The meetings will have keynote
presentations on the topi, “The African Growth Cradle for the Next Decade”.
Emmanuel Doni-Kwame, Managing
Director of World Trade Centre, Accra, encouraged Ghanaian businesses to join
global organisations such as the WTC to enable them start enjoying the same
quality services they can access in other World Trade Centres around the globe.
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