VALCO targets 80,000 tonnes of aluminium production by 2027, eyes 1.5 million tonnes by 2035

The Volta Aluminium Company Limited (VALCO) has outlined an ambitious long-term development vision aimed at increasing annual aluminium production to 1.5 million metric tonnes by 2035, as part of efforts to establish Ghana as a major player in the global aluminium industry.

The plan forms part of a five-to-ten-year transformation strategy presented by the company's Chief Executive Officer, Dr Robert Makila Sambian, during the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources' Progress Series.

The vision is anchored on two major pillars: the recovery and expansion of VALCO's existing smelter, and progress towards a fully integrated aluminium industry.

Under the short-term recovery plan, VALCO is targeting the restoration of all 200 active cells by 2027, with an annual production capacity of 80,000 metric tonnes.

The second pillar represents VALCO's long-term ambition to produce 1.5 million metric tonnes of primary aluminium annually by 2035.

Achieving that target will require a fully integrated aluminium value chain supported by domestic bauxite mining, alumina refining, reliable energy supply and increased value-added production.

VALCO is a private company limited by shares, with all 4,285,720 issued shares held by the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) on behalf of the Government of Ghana.

The proposed expansion is expected to reposition the company as a major contributor to Ghana's industrialisation and economic transformation agenda.