Leading iron and steel manufacturing company, B5 Plus says Ghana stands to be a market leader in the sector with the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) if the issue of the high cost of electricity is addressed.

Chief Executive Officer of B5 Plus, Mukesh Thakwani, called on the government to introduce a favourable electricity price regime that would make local manufacturers more competitive amid the continental agreement.

“Electricity is a major component in the production of steel products so if the government can give us special pricing on that for the steel industry, I’m sure it will decrease price further.”

“Electricity is very expensive in Ghana compared to other countries so this is the challenge we always face but still, if you really check today, Ghana has a much cheaper price for steel products compared to other West African markets. I think industrialization is already helping Ghana so if we are able to take it to the next level, we are sure that it will not only create employment but save millions of dollars in revenue,” he added.

Ghana currently has one of the highest electricity tariff in the sub-region, a situation that many industry players have raised concerns over.

Some like the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) have proposed introducing nuclear energy into the country’s energy mix as a cheaper alternative to address this concern.

Power in the country is presently being sold at about 17 cents per kilowatt-hour, as compared to about 8 cents per kilowatt-hour with nuclear energy.

Mr Thakwani Spoke to Citi business news on the sidelines of the Africa globalized investment forum organized by the AfCFTA Policy Network.

The three-day forum was aimed at bringing together international government officials, NGO private sector leaders, investors, and businesses across the globe to invest in the economic sectors of all the member states of Africa through AfCFTA.