President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has opened the 107th factory under his government’s flagship programme of One District, One Factory (1D1F), in the Ningo-Prampram constituency in the Greater Accra Region.
Addressing attendees of the commissioning ceremony of the pharmaceutical manufacturing plant for Atlantic Lifesciences Limited, a company under government’s flagship initiative on Friday at Larpleku, Ningo-Prampram, in the Greater Accra Region, President Akufo-Addo said he is pleased to note that “the factory will create some 380 direct jobs and when fully operational, will generate additional 400 direct jobs”.
“In addition, the facility is expected to create a total of 2,500 indirect jobs” President Akufo-Addo said.
Project funding
Out of the total of $35 million spent to establish the manufacturing facility in Ningo-Prampram, President Akufo-Addo indicated that he is pleased to know that 10 million United States dollars of the amount was provided for by government through the Ghana EXIM bank towards the purchase of plants, equipment and machinery.
“This underscores the kind of support given by government to the private sector to take advantage of economic opportunities in the country”, President Akufo-Addo said.
107th 1D1F
Minister for Trade and Industry Alan Kyerematen in his brief statement noted that the state-of-the-art facility of Atlantic Lifesciences limited is the 107th company to begin operations under the 1D1F initiative after it was admitted to join the initiative in 2017.
Mr Kyerematen observed that a vibrant local pharmaceutical industry will be the surest way to wean the country from its over dependence on the importation of pharmaceutical products.
The establishment of Atlantic Lifesciences Limited together with other existing local pharmaceutical companies according to the Trade Minister, is a clear indication that government is poised to grow the local pharmaceutical industry and reduce imports if not to eradicate it completely.
State support
Founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Atlantic Lifesciences Limited Mr. Dhananjay Tripathi, is a naturalized Ghanaian Industrial Pharmacist, Consultant and entrepreneur, in his remarks noted that the support of the government of Ghana and her agencies such as the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) and the EXIM Bank, has been extremely instrumental in the completion of the project.
He indicated further that Atlantic Lifesciences Limited is committed to expanding its scope of work beyond what it is currently in order to create more jobs beyond what is to be created with the commissioning of the Atlantic Lifesciences factory.
Ningo-Prampram MP grateful
Samuel Nartey George, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for the Ningo-Prampram, the host district of the Atlantic Lifesciences factory, in a brief statement noted that the people of Ningo-Prampram are eternally grateful to the Akufo-Addo administration for building the factory in their constituency.
He indicated that the Atlantic Lifesciences Limited has the capacity to produce all infusion needs of the country.
To this end, he called on government to take a critical look at cheap imports of infusions in order to give the infusions that will be produced locally by Atlantic Lifesciences an upper hand in the market place.
Atlantic Lifesciences Ltd
Atlantic Lifesciences Limited was registered on 2 February 2017, as a Limited Liability Company under the companies’ code of 1963 (Now Companies Act 993).
The company is located in Ghana with the focus of establishing a broader presence in the West African region. At moment, Atlantic Lifesciences Limited, is the major importers and suppliers of Anti- Snake serum & Anti-Rabies vaccine in the West African region.
The new sterile plant commissioned under the ID1F initiative will among others, produce Anti- Snake, Anti-Rabies, Anti-Diphtheria, Anti-Scorpion, Anti-Tetanus, & Anti-Gangrene products.
Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company added the manufacturing of some essential medicines to support the fight against COVID-19 and government’s self -reliant policy.
Atlantic Lifesciences Limited is dedicated to improving the quality of people’s life by providing innovative health care products which are not just affordable but also meet the highest quality.