The government of Ghana is still in talks with the Neoplan Ghana Limited after a month of hinting to shut down because of it is no longer viable to the country.
It is a month on, and the gov’t of Ghana is still in talks with them discussing a revival strategy for the struggling firm.
Neoplan Ghana, one of the country’s surviving coach manufacturing businesses in the 1970s, announced a total shutdown on Friday, January 31, 2020, because it is no longer viable.
A memo to all staff of the company in Accra and Kumasi announcing the closure of the company, which was established on December 12, 1974, cites the lack of contracts and recurring monthly losses as reasons for the shutdown.
The company said the last time it was given a government contract was in 2002, which ended in 2010 and saw the production of 450 DAF/VDL buses for the Metro Mass Transit Ltd.
A delegation from the Neoplan Ghana in an interview on Happy98.9FM’s Happy Morning Show revealed that the constant importation of buses after the end of the former president John Agyekum Kufuor’s led administration is a contributing factor to their imminent closure. ” “2010 was the last time we built buses for the country. The government ceased giving us contracts after 2010. They rather started buying cars from India and Belgium.”
About Neoplan
For almost 46 years of its existence, Neoplan Ghana Limited has built over 4,000 buses for the government to support the transport sector.
In its heyday, the company gave employment to hundreds of Ghanaians, and also offered one of the best options for road transport passenger vehicles.
It is in view of its popularity with Ghanaian commuters that two major bus terminals in Accra and Kumasi, as well as the localities where the company operates from within the two cities, have for a long time been called Neoplan.
The company can employ over 1,000 workers when in full production.