The plant is the culmination of a journey that began in 2018 when Nissan became the first mover in the country to sign a memorandum of understanding with the government to work towards creating the Ghana Automotive Development Policy.

Nissan selected Japan Motors, one of its two long-standing distributors in the country, as its licensed assembler in 2020. Work on the 5000 sq m plant began shortly afterwards and today, 17 months later, the plant has been officially commissioned by the president as the first Navaras began rolling off the assembly lines.

Nissan Africa managing director, Mike Whitfield, said it was an incredible, joyous and emotional experience.

“Less than eight months ago, the Nissan plant in Rosslyn South Africa passed its final test to be given the green light to start manufacturing the all-new ‘built of more’ Nissan Navara. Right at that time, a key group from this plant graduated in the same plant, having received extensive and intensive training on assembling these vehicles.

“Just over a month ago, this brand-new assembly plant passed its own final test – the very same one that the Rosslyn plant had to pass because in the world of Nissan there is only one standard – it is Nissan’s. I can tell you all, without any fear of contradiction, that this is the most modern, most state-of the art plant anywhere in West Africa.”

“The plant, he said, was proof of the fantastic public private partnership between the government of Ghana, Japan Motors and Nissan Africa,” he says.