Skip to main content

West Africa’s biggest bitumen plant

July saw the ceremonial sod cutting for a project to build West Africa’s biggest bitumen plant: a joint venture between Ghana’s oil company GOIL and Societe Multinationale de Bitumes (SMB) of the Ivory Coast. The project, which will cost around US$35 million according to GOIL, is in Tema Ghana. With a capacity of 8,000tonnes, it will produce AC10 and AC20 bitumen and polymer modified bitumen (PMB). Speaking at the ceremony, Ghana’s minister of energy John Peter Amewu said: “Due to the success of the PMB
September 19, 2019 Read time: 2 mins
July saw the ceremonial sod cutting for a project to build West Africa’s biggest bitumen plant: a joint venture between Ghana’s oil company GOIL and Societe Multinationale de Bitumes (SMB) of the Ivory Coast. The project, which will cost around US$35 million according to GOIL, is in Tema Ghana. With a capacity of 8,000tonnes, it will produce AC10 and AC20 bitumen and polymer modified bitumen (PMB).


Speaking at the ceremony, Ghana’s minister of energy John Peter Amewu said: “Due to the success of the PMB, which is proven to give a longer lifespan to asphalted roads, the Ghana Highways Authority also plans to continue using it for all major highways resurfacing or construction in the country.”

Ghana’s road network of over 63,000km needs repair and modernisation. According to management consultants Investigroup, which has an office in Ghana, a rehabilitation programme of $1.5 billion/year for the next ten years would be needed to get the roads up to a good standard.

Related Content

  • Metso’s portable plants proving a hit for Asian and African road works
    January 24, 2014
    Metso's Indian-manufactured Nordwheeler portable crushing and screening plants are said to be playing an important role in a number of road and other construction infrastructure projects in Asia and Africa. During a short period of time, Metso has sold over 30 portable Nordwheeler plants to Asian and African-based aggregates producers. The plants are manufactured in Metso's factory in Bawal, India – earlier this year reaching the milestone of 1,000 Indian-manufactured portable plants.
  • Lagos state lights up with Low Energy Designs
    June 27, 2018
    Nigeria’s Lagos state government has outsourced around a third of its street lighting under a deal with UK manufacturer Low Energy Designs. The partnership deal will see LED replace up to 10,000 lights over 300km of state roads within the next year at a cost of US$7 million, Nigeria’s media reported. Products will be from Low Energy Design’s Phoenix Ultra and Norrsken ranges. Included is the deployment of the company’s HESS - hybrid energy storage system – units of which will also be installed across the h
  • Environmental impact drives warm mix growth
    November 14, 2012
    Warm mix asphalt can save energy and the environment, cutting emissions of carbon dioxide and other harmful gases, but are environmental arguments enough for clients and contractors? Kristina Smith asks Though popular in the United States, warm mix asphalt is still a technology waiting to happen in the rest of the world. Chemical companies who imagined a meteoric rise in sales are still waiting for the right economic conditions to allow warm mix to start taking serious market share from hot mix. “In Europe
  • Cold recycling with foamed bitumen – an innovative technique
    November 7, 2017
    The pressure to conserve materials in road construction means that resource-saving technologies are more in demand than ever before. Wirtgen’s cold recycling process is already proven and has the potential to meet future demand. Roads subjected to continuous and heavy traffic often show signs of damage that extend down to the road base. To eliminate this damage, the entire road needs structural rehabilitation. Full reuse of the milled material as well as its cost-effective treatment make cold recycling with