Ghana invites Malaysian businesses to help develop its infrastructure

Pedestrians walk in front of Ghana's central bank building in Accra, Ghana, November 16, 2015. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko/File Photo

KUALA LUMPUR: Ghana is calling on Malaysian businesses to invest in its infrastructure sector, especially the roads and railways.

Its High Commissioner to Malaysia, Benjamin Clement Eghan, said Ghana wanted Malaysian companies to help develop the roads and railways as the country had been rated as one of the top three countries in building them.

“We know that you have a good railway and monorail system here. We have major interest in building a railway system from the north to the south of Ghana,” he said in an interview with Bernama.

Eghan said Ghana establishing an efficient railway and monorail system would help Ghanaians, especially the lower income group, to have good access to transportation.

He said Malaysian information technology (IT) and software companies had undertaken major contracts in Ghana.

“Over the last three years, Silverlake System Sdn Bhd, Heitech Padu Bhd and DataMicron Systems Sdn Bhd have helped develop our IT sector,” he said.

According to Eghan, the main areas for Malaysian businesses to explore in Ghana are agro-processing, housing, shipping, oil and gas, IT and electronics and railways.

He said a Malaysian company was helping Ghana develop homes for the lower-income group.

On what Malaysia could benefit from Ghana in terms of trade and investment other than being one of Ghana’s main importer of cocoa, Eghan said the country would like to export non-traditional items.

He said both nations were close to setting up the Malaysia-Ghana Business Council.

“Cocoa is the major export to Malaysia. Others included vegetable fat, processed food, cocoa paste and crude rubber.

“We want to bring in non-traditional items to Malaysia and we are discussing with Malaysia External Trade Development Corp about other products Malaysia can import from Ghana,” he said.

“Once we advance the discussions, we will know what areas Malaysia can be given preferential treatment,” he said.

The high commissioner said Malaysia was a success story the rest of the world, especially the developing countries, could learn from.

“Malaysia’s success in development and infrastructure is highly commendable. We have been bringing in Ghanas delegations to come and see how Malaysia develops its businesses,” he said.

Eghan said if Ghanaians could see the benefits Malaysia had to offer the world in the area of education, they would be attracted to come here and enroll in institutions of higher learning.

“This would certainly help boost the Malaysian economy,” he said. - Bernama