Hyundai, KIA to establish assembly plants in Ghana

Hyundai and KIA, South Korean multinational automotive manufacturers, are set to establish assembly plants in Ghana by the end of 2022.

Alan Kyerematen, Ghana’s minister for trade and industry, announced the development in a tweet on Thursday.

He said the carmakers will join automobile manufacturing companies such as Toyota-Suzuki, Nissan, Kantanka, Volkswagen and Sinotruck that have already established vehicle assembly plants in the country.

According to him, the local assembly of vehicles will create 3,600 direct and indirect jobs in Ghana, and the addition of components and parts manufacturing will also add about 6,600 direct and indirect jobs.

“Pleased to announce that Hyundai & KIA are set to establish assembly plants in Ghana by the end of 2022 to join Toyota-Suzuki, Nissan, Kantanka, Volkswagen & Sinotruck. The Ghana Auto Development programme = 3,600 assembly & 6,600 manufacturing parts jobs in Ghana,” the tweet read.

Pleased to announce that Hyundai & KIA are set to establish assembly plants in Ghana by the end of 2022 to join Toyota-Suzuki, Nissan, Kantanka, Volkswagen & Sinotruck. The Ghana Auto Development programme = 3,600 assembly & 6,600 manufacturing parts jobs in Ghana. #InvestforJobs pic.twitter.com/JMHAmlM5VI

— Alan Kyerematen (@AlanKyerematen) April 22, 2021

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Kyerematen said the ministry of trade and Industry (MoTI) has signed an agreement with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) to promote the automotive sector and support the development of industrial parks in Ghana.

For this purpose, an amount of 540,000 euros is being invested through a financing agreement.

Checks by TheCable showed that in 2015, KIA established a vehicle assembly plant in Lagos, Nigeria. The plant named United Vehicle Assembly Limited (UVAL) has an annual production capacity of 25,000 vehicles.

In December 2019, Hyundai announced plans to set up a car plant in Nigeria. The proposal which was supported by President Muhammadu Buhari has not been achieved.

Last week, the German government said a new German-West African Centre for Global Health and Pandemic Prevention will be located in Ghana.

Also, Twitter chose Ghana as the headquarters for its African operations.

In recent times, Ghana, a West African country similar to Nigeria, seems to be the preferable destination of foreign investors.