The Ashanti Green Initiative (AGI) is awaiting the completion of its permitting process with the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) before commencing major reclamation works along the Jimi River.
Chief Executive Officer of AGI, Oheneba Nana Kwaku Duah, said the initiative was working to submit the outstanding technical information required by the EPA to finalise the permit for the Jimi Land Reclamation and River Watercourse Rehabilitation Project.
Speaking during a royal visit to the project site on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, he said the team was working with engineering and consulting firm Zutari to complete the front-end engineering design.
“We have engaged the EPA because the EPA is a necessary body responsible for giving us a permit to be able to engage in the reclamation project,” he said.
He disclosed that AGI had already engaged the authority and maintained a positive working relationship with its leadership.
“We have, I can say, a very good relationship with the EPA leadership. And then we have already met with them. We are in the process of finalising our permitting,” he added.
Oheneba Nana Kwaku Duah explained that the outstanding engineering design work was the reason the permitting process had not been completed.
“We are at the tail end of that. That’s the only reason we haven’t finished our permitting,” he said, referring to the work being undertaken by Zutari.
He said the team expected to submit the final technical details to the EPA once the design was completed, enabling the authority to conclude its assessment.
“As soon as the final bits and bobs coming from Zutari, we can furnish the EPA with the necessary information that they need to give us the permit so that we can start working,” he said.
The AGI chief executive expressed hope that the necessary processes would be completed soon to allow work to begin before the end of 2026.
He also disclosed that the project team would proceed with final costing and tendering after the permitting process had been completed.
“I know that we are all eager to see this project off the ground, so we are making a commitment that by the end of next year at least we should have finished with one of the lots,” he said.
Project targets mining-degraded lands
The Jimi Land Reclamation Project seeks to restore lands severely degraded by unregulated small-scale mining and protect the Jimi River, an important water source for communities across the Adanse Traditional Area.
The project covers approximately 153 hectares across three designated lots in the Obuasi East Municipality and the Adansi Akrofuom and Adansi Asokwa districts.
The restoration programme is expected to involve backfilling abandoned mining pits, regrading damaged terrain, managing contaminated soils, installing drainage and erosion-control structures, and restoring topsoil.
AGI has selected kenaf, a commercial fibre crop, for the restoration process because of its potential for phytoremediation and its use in producing sustainable packaging materials.
Oheneba Nana Kwaku Duah said the objective was to ensure that the soil was healthy before food crops were cultivated.
He also linked the choice of kenaf to efforts to promote a circular economy and reduce dependence on conventional plastic packaging.
READ: Jimi reclamation: Otumfuo warns galamsey could endanger health, future generations
The project emerged from Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II’s advocacy against illegal mining at the Mining in Motion forum and is being led by AGI on his behalf, with technical and operational support from AngloGold Ashanti.
During Wednesday’s visit, Otumfuo expressed concern about the destruction of land and water bodies through illegal mining, stressing the need to protect water resources while creating employment opportunities for young people.
