The Presidential Adviser on the 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development, Goosie Augustus Obuadum Tanoh, says the Eastern Region is positioned to become one of the major anchors of Ghana’s second wave of industrialisation under the government’s 24-Hour Economy programme.
According to him, the policy is designed to shift Ghana from exporting raw materials to processing and manufacturing finished products for the domestic market and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Speaking on behalf of President John Dramani Mahama at the opening of the Eastern Expo 2026 in Koforidua, Mr Goosie Tanoh said the Eastern Region would benefit significantly from investments in industrial parks, transportation infrastructure, agriculture, manufacturing and tourism.
He said the 24H+ Programme was intended to end the longstanding situation where Ghana exports raw materials and imports finished products, citing cocoa and timber as examples.
“For a hundred years, we sold cocoa and bought back chocolate. We sold timber and bought back furniture. The 24H+ Programme is ending that pattern.”
He said government’s target was to reduce unemployment to below five percent by 2035 while increasing manufacturing’s contribution to the national economy from about 10 percent towards 20 percent.
Eastern Region to anchor industrial production
Mr Tanoh identified the Volta Economic Corridor as a major component of the programme, covering 75 districts, including ten in the Eastern Region.
He said the corridor would link production centres in areas including the Kwahu Afram Plains, Asuogyaman, Manya, Kwahu East and South, Fanteakwa and Yilo Krobo to markets through improved transport infrastructure.
The programme will also leverage the new railway connection to Mpakadan and the Volta Lake Transport System to move agricultural and industrial goods.
Mr Tanoh said transporting goods by water was expected to reduce freight costs by as much as 60 percent, allowing products such as fish from Asuogyaman and yam from the Afram Plains to reach Accra at more affordable costs.
He further said the Accra-Kumasi Expressway would strengthen the region’s position as a trade and production corridor, with interchanges planned at Adeiso, Asamankese, Akyem Oda and Ofoase.
Three industrial parks for Afram Plains
The Presidential Adviser disclosed that three industrial parks were being developed in the Kwahu Afram Plains under the 24H+ Programme.
He said GB Foods, producers of Gino and Pomo tomato products, would anchor the food and beverage park, creating a market for locally produced tomatoes.
According to him, the initiative could help address post-harvest losses while increasing agricultural productivity, noting that pilot farms operated by GB Foods had already increased tomato yields from about seven tonnes per hectare to 20 tonnes per hectare.
24-hour production depends on jobs, power and markets
He added that two agroecological parks would be anchored by Pitiku and Africa Golden Foods, while Koforidua had been identified as a centre for regional garment manufacturing.
Mr Tanoh explained that the 24-hour economy was not simply about factories operating at night but about removing the constraints that prevent businesses from expanding production.
He said businesses would need reliable and affordable electricity, efficient supply chains, access to raw materials, safe transportation for night workers, working capital and trained workers.
He added that access to large markets in Ghana, AfCFTA and beyond would be critical to enabling factories to move from one shift to second and third shifts.
Mr Tanoh said tourism would also form part of the Eastern Region’s 24H+ economic activities, describing the sector as an export that generates income for local businesses.
He cited attractions including Boti Falls, Umbrella Rock, Aburi Gardens, Krobo bead-making, Asesewa kente weaving, the Kwahu paragliding festival, Atewa Range and the Bunso Arboretum.
He said under the SHOW24 initiative, government would work with the region to develop tourism sites, access roads and services.
Landowners to become project partners
The Presidential Adviser also said the 24H+ Programme would introduce a land model under which communities providing land for investment would retain ownership while receiving rent and dividends from projects established on their lands.
He urged investors to bring capital, technology and expertise, while partnering Ghanaian businesses and sourcing raw materials from local farmers.
Mr Tanoh said the Eastern Region had more than 1.5 million people of working age who could benefit from the expansion of industrial parks, factories and tourism enterprises.
He said the long-term vision was for tomatoes to be processed in Kwahu instead of being lost after harvest, garments produced in Koforidua to reach markets such as Abidjan and Lagos, and agricultural produce from the Afram Plains to be transported through the Volta Lake to rail connections at Mpakadan and onward to ports.
He stressed, however, that government alone could not deliver the transformation.
“Government can build the corridor, the parks and the roads. Government cannot farm a hectare, process a tonne, sew a garment, host a visitor or run a night shift,” he said.
Mr .Goosie Tanoh said the responsibility for production would ultimately rest with farmers, producers and entrepreneurs, while government’s role was to create the conditions that make their businesses competitive.
He subsequently declared the Eastern Expo 2026 which commenced September 26 and ends October 3, officially opened on behalf of President John Dramani Mahama.
Present at the launch were Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts,Abla Dzifa Gomashie, Deputy Minister of Trade ,Sampson Ahi, Eastern Regional Minister ,Rita Akosua Adjei Awatey, Presidential Advisor on the Economy ,Seth Tekper who represented the Chief of Staff ,Omanhene of New Juaben Daasebre kwaku Boateng III, Kwahumanhene Daasebre Akuamoah Agyepong II who was chairman for the occasion
