For information only - not an official document
UNIS/OUS/160
29 October 2012
UNIDO supports green industrial development in Ghana
ACCRA/VIENNA, 29 October (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) - The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) will support green industrial development in Ghana through a EUR 1.3 million project, funded by the Republic of Korea.
"The project will promote biogas technology and business for sustainable growth in Ghana, and is very timely in the context of the Sustainable Energy for All initiative launched by the UN Secretary-General," said Kandeh K. Yumkella, UNIDO Director-General, who, during a working visit to Ghana, signed an agreement on the project with Hanna Tetteh, the Minister of Trade and Industry.
"Industrial-scale biogas technology development in Ghana presents a lot of opportunities. The technology enables industries that are currently dumping bio-waste in water bodies, in violation of national environmental protection laws, to comply with these laws and, in the process, produce heat and power to enhance their operations and productivity," added Yumkella.
The project, which will use the experience and technologies of the Republic of Korea, will strengthen the technical and business skills of biogas companies to ensure that they approach biogas technology as a business, and will then be able to provide technical support to biogas systems in the country in the long term.
Yumkella said that "Ghana's commitment and leadership in biogas technology is amply demonstrated by the fact that the Flag Staff House - a presidential palace in Accra -- has a 180 cubic metre biogas plant installed." He added, "The main objective of the project that we have launched today is to provide a solid and technically sound framework for a broader and accelerated drive to promote biogas technologies in Ghana and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region as a whole. I am confident that other development partners will soon be mobilized to expand the scope of this project."
The project will be implemented in close coordination with the ECOWAS Regional Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE), with a view to developing a regional programme on biogas technologies, with Ghana acting a centre of excellence in the region.
Yumkella said that the success of biogas technology hinged on the establishment of mutually beneficial and stronger partnerships between market players and market enablers. In particular, policymakers should support the dissemination of biogas technologies by creating an enabling environment for private sector to invest. On the other hand, the private sector, both local and international, should take advantage of such initiatives to invest in Africa so that Africa can meet its sustainable development objectives.
Yumkella thanked the Republic of Korea, and in particular the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, for supporting the project. "This project will transfer knowledge on biogas technology from the Republic of Korea to Ghana. It is up to Ghana to receive, adapt, and utilize this knowledge to the benefit of the country. UNIDO stands ready to support this project and to mobilize other partners in the expansion and replication of the project in Ghana and the whole of the ECOWAS region," he said.
Director-General Yumkella is also attending a conference on Sustainable Energy For All in West Africa, "Paving the way through renewable energy and energy efficiency", taking place in Accra from 29 to 31 October.
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For more information please contact:
Mikhail
Evstafyev
UNIDO Advocacy and Communications Coordinator
Telephone: (+43-1) 26026-5021
Mobile: (+43-699) 1459-7329
Email: M.Evstafyev[at]unido.org
