The Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) has dismissed claims that the Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO) is being sold, describing the reports as “categorically false.”

In a statement signed by its Chief Executive Officer, Reindorf Twumasi Ankrah, GIADEC clarified that government policy is not aimed at divesting VALCO but rather reviving and expanding the aluminium smelter through a strategic partnership arrangement.

According to GIADEC, a strategic equity investor has been shortlisted as part of ongoing efforts to retrofit and expand VALCO, alongside plans to establish a greenfield alumina refinery in Ghana.

The proposed arrangement will involve ceding a portion of equity to the investor, while the government, through GIADEC, retains significant ownership and strategic control of the company.

The corporation explained that the partnership is intended to inject fresh capital, modern technology and operational expertise into VALCO, improve efficiency, protect existing jobs and create thousands of new direct and indirect employment opportunities.

GIADEC stressed that the government has no intention of selling VALCO, noting that the policy is to exchange a minority equity stake for the capital and technical capacity required to comprehensively modernise the smelter.

Under the proposed plan, VALCO’s annual aluminium production capacity is projected to increase from about 40,000 tonnes to 300,000 tonnes within 36 months.

GIADEC said this modernisation drive will stabilise operations, halt further financial decline and reposition VALCO as a competitive player within an integrated aluminium value chain.

The statement revealed that the decision to pursue a strategic equity investor dates back to 2022, when the Cabinet approved requests by GIADEC and VALCO to seek equity investment for the smelter’s rehabilitation and expansion.

An independent technical and financial assessment by KPMG that year identified equity investment as the most commercially viable and legally sound option.

A more recent review of VALCO’s financial position, including its 2025 financial statements, further highlighted the urgency of the partnership to prevent further deterioration and restore production capacity.

In 2025, a 12-member cross-sectoral committee comprising representatives from VALCO, GIADEC and the Ministries of Lands and Natural Resources; Energy and Green Transition, Finance; and Trade was constituted to evaluate proposals from interested investors.

The committee’s work was guided by national development priorities, including job retention and creation, adoption of modern technology, value addition and alignment with the government’s 24-hour economy agenda.

Following the completion of its work, the committee submitted its recommendations to the GIADEC Board and the sector minister for further consideration.

GIADEC assured VALCO workers that the proposed partnership will not result in job losses but will instead improve working conditions and expand employment opportunities.

The corporation called on the public to support what it described as a critical national initiative to restore VALCO to its “place of pride” and secure its long-term contribution to Ghana’s industrial and economic development.

GIADEC reiterated that the modernisation of VALCO forms a key pillar of its broader vision to develop a fully integrated aluminium industry in Ghana, covering bauxite mining, alumina refining, aluminium smelting and downstream manufacturing, in line with the government’s industrial transformation agenda.