Northshore Industrial Hub will create 30,000 jobs for Northern Ghana- Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama has projected that the Northshore Industrial Hub in Tamale will create employment opportunities for at least 30,000 young people when fully operational.

According to the President, the Northshore Apparel Hub, which has already created about 2,000 jobs, particularly for young women, represents the beginning of a broader industrial transformation aimed at restoring Northern Ghana to its former position as an industrial and agricultural hub.

President Mahama made the remarks during the official opening of the Northshore Apparel Hub at Savelugu.

He recalled that Northern Ghana had a vibrant industrial sector in the 1970s, with rice processing plants, vegetable oil mills, the Ghana Cotton Company, textile factories and other agro-processing industries providing jobs and markets for farmers.

He said the decline of those industries was partly caused by unreliable power supply, weak value chains and poor transport infrastructure, which made it difficult and expensive for businesses in the North to move goods to southern Ghana.

However, President Mahama said the situation had changed significantly, citing improved electricity supply, better road networks, reliable air transport and the availability of land as some of the factors that now make Northern Ghana attractive to investors.

“Today the North has comparative advantages that I believe should attract investors here, and I’m sure many will follow in the footsteps of Northshore,” he said.

The President noted that Northshore was already using solar power in its operations and had plans to expand its renewable energy capacity to reduce reliance on the national grid and lower production costs.

He also highlighted ongoing improvements to the Eastern Corridor road, saying the completion of the remaining sections would further shorten the time required to transport goods between Northern Ghana and the Tema Port.

President Mahama said the planned development of the Northshore Industrial Hub would go beyond apparel manufacturing, with opportunities for other industries to establish operations within the area.

He expressed confidence that the hub would eventually become a major employment and job creation centre for Northern Ghana.

“At full strength, this hub, which we have named the Northshore Industrial Hub, will be able to provide employment to at least 30,000 young people,” he stated.

The President linked the initiative to efforts to reduce rural-urban and north-south migration, particularly among young people who travel to southern Ghana in search of employment.

He said the African Peer Review Mechanism had previously identified the lack of economic opportunities in Northern Ghana as a factor contributing to population imbalance and migration.

President Mahama was particularly encouraged by the fact that about 80 percent of Northshore’s employees are young women.

He said expanding such industries in the North would provide young women with decent employment opportunities locally and reduce the need for them to migrate south to engage in menial jobs.

“This is the beginning of what the peer review mechanism was talking about, because a lot of the employees here, 80 percent of them are young girls,” he said.

The President also disclosed that Northshore had benefited from blended financing involving international partners and Ghana Exim Bank, which provided almost $12 million in financing for the project.

He said Ghana Exim Bank was established to provide financing for productive enterprises capable of creating jobs, expanding exports and supporting Ghana’s industrialisation agenda.

President Mahama further announced plans to introduce net metering to allow companies with solar installations to feed excess electricity into the national grid and receive credit for the power supplied.

He said the government was also working to improve logistics through the development of a new port and transport connection on the Volta Lake, which could provide Northshore with an alternative route for moving containers to and from the Tema Port.

Beyond apparel production, President Mahama challenged the management of Northshore to expand into the production of military, police, prisons and immigration uniforms, as well as protective equipment for industries.

He said government was also amending procurement arrangements to prioritise licensed Ghanaian-made products, allowing public institutions to purchase locally manufactured goods rather than relying on imports where suitable local alternatives exist.

President Mahama said these measures form part of the government’s broader 24-hour economy initiative, which he described as a strategy to create jobs, increase production and accelerate exports.

He expressed appreciation to the German government, KfW, Ghana Exim Bank, the Ministry of Trade and Industry and other partners for supporting the project.

The President said the government would continue to seek investment-driven partnerships that create productive enterprises and employment rather than relying primarily on aid.

“We look for investment and not aid. We look for investment and not aid, and this is an example of investing together,” he said.