Business magnate Dr. Daniel McKorley has called for urgent private sector investment to transform the Volta Region’s untapped economic potential, addressing entrepreneurs and policymakers at a major economic forum focused on Ghana’s 24-hour economy initiative.
Speaking at the Volta Economic Forum held on October 31, 2025, under the theme “Harnessing the Volta Corridor Economic Potential for the 24-Hour Economy Take-off,” the McDan Group CEO urged stakeholders to move beyond rhetoric and take decisive action to unlock the region’s wealth. The forum was designed as a strategic investment platform to attract both local and international investors across key growth sectors.
Dr. McKorley reportedly emphasized that the Volta Region can generate up to nine billion dollars in annual economic value through deliberate private sector investment. He challenged attendees with pointed questions about whether attitudes or lack of deliberate action were preventing the region from realizing this potential.
The entrepreneur described the region’s natural resources, from stone, salt and timber to tourism and agriculture, as largely untapped despite their immense commercial value. He specifically mentioned that near Afadjato, there are at least seven types of valuable stones worth millions of dollars sitting idle.
McDan owns Africa’s largest salt mine, sitting on 41,000 acres of land in Ada in the Greater Accra Region, which can generate up to six billion dollars in revenue. While he mentioned developing a major salt project, his existing Electrochem Salt Mine facility in Sege produces 650,000 metric tons of salt annually, with capacity expected to reach one million metric tons by 2024 and two million metric tons by 2027.
Beyond extractives, he identified tourism and aviation as critical development levers, citing the Volta Region’s unique topography, waterfalls and cultural heritage as key assets for high-value tourism. He suggested the region could have the longest cable car in the world near Afadjato Mountain and become a tourism powerhouse through health tourism, including traditional waterfalls believed to have healing powers.
Dr. McKorley revealed plans to expand his aviation business into the Volta Region, creating an entry point for investors and private jets. His vision includes seeing private jets flying into the region carrying investors, signaling serious commitment to regional transformation.
Describing the Volta Region as a sleeping giant with a youth population exceeding 70 percent, he stressed the need to empower young people through entrepreneurship, innovation and vocational training aligned with the 24-hour economy agenda. He urged government and private sector partnership, emphasizing that the region’s transformation cannot rely solely on state intervention.
The government has positioned the Volta Region as an anchor for its 24-Hour Economy policy, with Chief of Staff Julius Debrah describing the Volta Economic Corridor as occupying a central part of President John Dramani Mahama’s economic reset agenda. The corridor, spanning more than two million hectares, is expected to serve as a logistics and production backbone to accelerate regional integration.
The African Development Bank signed a landmark Letter of Intent with Ghana in July 2025 to support development of the Volta Economic Corridor, setting the stage for repositioning Lake Volta as a multimodal transport spine for agricultural and industrial expansion.
Ghana EXIM Bank CEO Sylvester Adinam Mensah outlined several areas of potential including agriculture and agro-processing, cross-border trade and logistics, industrial parks and manufacturing, tourism and blue economy, and renewable energy.
The forum, attended by government officials, investors and policymakers, forms part of Ghana’s broader push to build regional growth centers capable of driving the 24-hour economy through private investment, innovation and industrial transformation.
