President John Dramani Mahama on Thursday commissioned the expanded evaporated milk production line at Nestlé Ghana Limited in the industrial city of Tema. 

President Mahama said Tema was a city where Ghana’s founding President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, planted the industrial ambitions of a young republic, and it remains the place where that ambition was most visibly at work. 

The President noted that investment that was being commissioned retired a production line that served the factory faithfully for more than 30 years but had reached the limits of its capacity. 

It is being replaced with an expanded factory production line capable of producing nearly 30,000 tons per year. 

Using the newly commissioned line, President Mahama explained the government’s flagship 24-Hour Economy programme to mean “a factory that never sleeps, it works 24-7, and it supports approximately 1,200 full-time workers and about another 1,300 third-party workers.” 

The President said he was happy to announce that 94.4 per cent of the employees of Nestlé were Ghanaian, saying, “this figure is most important because it shows whether a company is creating opportunities for Ghanaians as it grows its business, and to its credit, Nestlé has done that.” 

“Kwame Nkrumah planned Tema as Ghana’s industrial city, and I am pleased to say that Tema is regaining its glory days. The Port of Tema has expanded. Tema Oil Refinery is back, at work again. We are working on reviving VALCO,” he said. 

President Mahama said the Arise Industrial Enclave was progressing, and many industries like Nestlé existing in the Tema enclave were expanding their production. 

This, he said, was because the investment climate was good; adding that foreign direct investment had risen from 624 million Ghana cedis in 2024 to 2.62 billion dollars in 2025.  

“Interest rates are falling, with spreads between nine per cent and 13 per cent. Inflation, which stood at 23.8 per cent, is down to about 5.2 per cent, and our long-suffering local currency, the cedi, has regained its strength and is relatively performing very well,” he said. 

To the management and staff of Nestlé Ghana Limited, President Mahama said the plant was a monument to what partnership, purpose and patriotism could achieve together.  

“You belong to an institution with a proud heritage in this country and the courage to continue investing in this country’s future,” he said. 

“So, keep pushing the frontiers of growth, deepen your bonds with Ghanaian farmers and suppliers, and keep creating opportunities for young people and for this nation, Ghana,” he urged. 

President Mahama commended the Nestle Ghana Ltd for supporting the President’s Independence Day Award for schoolchildren for almost 30 years. 

He called for continual partnership with the government as the nation and Nestle both prepared to celebrate their 70th anniversary, saying, “let today be our shared dedication, our shared declaration to the world: we are not finished, we are only starting”. 

Madam Salomé Azevedo, the Managing Director of Nestlé Ghana Ltd, said the milestone the company had achieved reflected its commitment to local production and their confidence in Ghana’s very bright future.