Empire Cement Ghana denies producing cement without a permit

Empire Cement Ghana Ltd, located at Weija, in Accra, Ghana, allegedly been producing and distributing cement without authorisation according to rival local cement manufacturers.

Existing cement manufacturers in Ghana have also accused the new entrant of operating under unethical environmental conditions, reports Graphic Online. However, Empire Cement has denounced and discredited the accusations, saying it has not started producing cement at the factory for the open market.

The company said it had permit to produce cement papers and was still working with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a permit to commence cement production. The company insisted that its cement packaging unit had all the permits for the production of cement packaging products.

Both the EPA and the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) confirmed to the Daily Graphic that they had not issued permits to Empire Cement to produce and distribute cement in the country.

Empire Cement's new 1Mta cement plant is being built in partnership with Obokom Civil Engineering Ltd at an estimated cost of US$50m. Its ownership structure was given as 70 per cent by Chinese investors and 30 per cent by Obokom Civil Engineering. Commissioning is scheduled for June 2022.