Ghana plans 2,000-acre pharmaceutical park at Ningo Prampram

Ghana is planning a 2,000-acre pharmaceutical innovation park at Ningo Prampram in the Greater Accra Region as part of efforts to expand domestic medicine production and reduce dependence on imports.

The proposed Legon Pharmaceutical Innovation Park, known as LePIP, is intended to bring manufacturers, laboratories, research facilities and shared industrial services into one integrated site. According to information reported by Graphic Online, the project is being developed through the 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Authority with the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund.

Officials say the park could eventually support about 30,000 jobs. That number is a government projection rather than a confirmed employment figure, and will depend on investment, construction and the number of manufacturers that establish operations at the site.

Shared facilities for manufacturers

Plans outlined for the park include reliable power, water and steam, cold-chain storage, an effluent-treatment facility, quality-control laboratories and ready-built factory space. Companies producing active pharmaceutical ingredients, generic medicines, vaccines, diagnostics and herbal medicines were invited to express interest.

Ghana currently imports a large share of the medicines used in the country. The government says greater local production could reduce exposure to foreign-exchange movements and supply disruptions while building technical and manufacturing jobs.

President John Mahama recently told visiting Indian pharmaceutical and vaccine companies that Ghana wants to strengthen domestic manufacturing capacity. His comments provide broader policy context, but do not by themselves confirm the timetable or final financing arrangements for LePIP.

The next test will be whether expressions of interest lead to firm investment commitments, construction and licensed production. No opening date for the completed park has yet been publicly confirmed in the sources reviewed by GH.today.

Sources

Graphic Online; Presidency of Ghana

Image: Illustrative pharmaceutical factory photograph by Habin Zhang, 7 August 2023, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. The photograph does not show the proposed Ningo Prampram site.