Twenty-four (24) factories have so far been approved for construction in the Northern Region under the government’s “One District One Factory (1D1F)” initiative.

Deputy Trade and Industry Minister, Robert Ahomka-Lindsay, said majority of these were in the agricultural sector.

He added that “six of them are existing factories looking to expand” while one had its own funds.

Mr. Ahomka-Lindsay announced this when he launched the District Implementation Support Teams (DISTs) for the factories in Tamale.

The DISTs are made up of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives, Members of Parliament, Coordinating Directors, chiefs and representatives from relevant public agencies.

They would assist business promoters to fulfil statutory requirements, facilitate the extension of power and other infrastructure to project sites, finalize land acquisition and registration processes in their respective districts.

The 1D1F is part of the government’s agenda to add value to natural resources to create jobs and wealth for the people.

Mr. Ahomka-Lindsay said based on the work done so far, they were confident that at least 20 out of the 24 approved factories would start operating this year.

He reiterated that every district was going to get a factory by the year 2020.

He called for all, to effectively play their respective roles to ensure the success of the initiative.

Mr. Ahomka-Lindsay also asked the district assemblies to secure at least 50,000 acres of litigation-free land for plantation agriculture and additional 4,000 acres for industrial parks and other business projects.

The Regional Minister, Mr Salifu Saeed, in address read on his behalf, urged the assemblies to work hard towards the successful construction of the factories.