Indian fertiliser company set up unit in Ghana

New Delhi, March 15 (IANS) Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (Iffco), a multi-state non-profit organisation, is setting up a unit in Ghana to meet the needs of the African nation and also export the surplus to India, says Vice President John Dramani Mahama.

"We have recently discovered gas in our country. This will be available for fertilisers. Accordingly, Iffco is building a fertilizer plant," Mahama told IANS on the sidelines of the India-Africa Project Partnership Summit here.

"The production will be enough to fulfil our fertilizer requirement and also export the surplus to India," the vice president added.

A senior member of the the African delegation at the summit, which seeks to strengthen business ties with India, Mahama said investing in Africa today made immense business sense and expressed happiness that Indian companies were realising this.

"India is among the top five foreign direct investors in my country. We have 46 projects going on worth $277 million with Indian companies."

Ghana is also wooing Indian investors to fund development of its oil and gas finds and is in discussions with both upstream and downstream companies for projects not just to harness the hydrocarbon assets but also set up refineries and other industries.

The African nation is also seeking support in improving its agricultural production, increase power generation and develop the fisheries business, said Mahama.

"Companies should realize that the rate of return for investments in Africa is higher than any part of the world -- it is as high as 65 percent."

The two-day conclave has been jointly organised by the Indian ministries of external affairs and commerce, besides the Export-Import Bank of India and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).