VALCO, a major long-term investment in Ghana is one of the largest enterprises in the country and the second largest smelter in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is a major producer of primary aluminium for the local and international markets. The establishment of VALCO was a result of the vision of the first President of the Republic of Ghana, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, to establish an integrated aluminium industry in the country. The Company is therefore a product of the meeting of minds of Dr Nkrumah and the late Edgar Kaiser, Chairman and Founder of Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical (KACC), the immediate past majority shareholder of VALCO. VALCO's history can be structured into two; namely, the illustrious history from the days of its establishment in 1967 until the exit of Kaiser Aluminum from VALCO's operations in 2004; and the period after the exit of Kaiser to the present. This second period, all things being equal, could be aptly described as the "Destiny-Shaping, Game-Changing" of VALCO's history. Construction of the VALCO plant began in 1964 and commercial production of aluminium began in March 1967. Prior to that. series of discussions had taken place that culminated in the signing of an agreement for the construction of the Akosombo Hydro-electric Dam. Earlier in the 1950's, studies had been conducted on the establishment of a hydroelectric dam and a ready buyer of the energy generated. An aluminium smelter appeared to be the most obvious choice and discussions with a number of investors resulted in Kaiser Aluminium and Reynolds Metal Company taking the mantle to set up the VALCO aluminium smelter. Thus, VALCO became the economic justification for the construction of the Akosombo hydroelectric dam as a result of a "take or pay" contract that guaranteed the purchase of a substantial part of the power to be produced by VALCO. This paved the way for the Government of Ghana to obtain the necessary loans to begin the construction of the Akosombo hydroelectric dam. In March 1967 when VALCO poured its first metal for commercial purposes, the plant had a capacity of 3 cell lines made up of 100 cells per line - a total production capacity of 120,000 metric tonnes per annum. Subsequently, the facility was expanded with the construction of the fourth and fifth cell lines in 1970 and 1974 respectively bringing the installed capacity to 200,000 metric tonnes per year.
