Work on the factory, which rests on a 15-acre land, is expected to be completed and operationalised by the end of this year.

The Leefound Foodstuffs Ghana Limited is a partnership between the Tianjin Food Group Limin Condiment Company Limited and the Ghana Grand Rice Food Limited, both Chinese entities.

The factory, a medium to large-scale entity that will produce tomato paste and spices, will source its raw materials largely from local producers.

Sod cutting

A Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Robert Ahomka-Lindsay, joined other dignitaries for the sod-cutting ceremony at Afienya yesterday.

Present were the National Coordinator of the 1D1F initiative, Mrs Gifty Ohene-Konadu; the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Mr Ishmael Ashitey; the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Ningo-Prampram, Mr Jonathan Doku; the President of the Chinese Business Association, Mr Tang Hong, and traditional rulers from the Ningo Traditional Area.

Approval

Mr Ahomka-Lindsay disclosed that 57 businesses had been approved for the 1D1F programme in the Greater Accra Region, out of which 14 were ready to start work, with Leefound Foodstuffs being one of them.

"For a start, this factory will directly employ 140 people locally and expand to 500 on completion. It is a medium to large-scale factory and will help small-scale businesses to blossom and create more job opportunities along the value chain," he added.

He urged the factory to ensure that it stuck to the local content law by sourcing its raw materials from the local market.

Local content

For his part, Mr Doku stressed the need for operators of the factory to employ the youth of the area for the people to feel the real impact of the entity.

He urged the company to ensure that the factory was completed on schedule and became operationalised.

The Deputy General Manager of the Tianjin Food Group Company Limited, Mr Zhang Jun, said the company would adhere to the local content law and also operate within the legal framework in the country.

He called for support from the local community to ensure the successful operations of the company.