Upper East Pitches GH₵8.6 Billion PEARL Development Plan to Korean Investors

The Upper East Region has presented its GH₵8.6 billion PEARL Framework to South Korean investors, seeking drone and satellite technology, skills training and help to revive idle agro-processing factories, according to Graphic Online, as carried by Radio Tamale.

The pitch was made on Wednesday at the Ghana-Korea Business Forum 2026 in Accra by Anatu Bogobiri, who spoke on behalf of the Upper East Regional Minister, Akamugri Donatus Atanga.

A ten-year plan for 15 districts

PEARL, short for Prosperity through Enterprise, Agriculture and Regional Livelihoods, is a 2026–2035 plan covering all 15 districts and municipalities in the region, with eight sectors and 23 flagship projects. It was validated in Bolgatanga this year with chiefs, assemblies, farmers, women’s groups, traders and businesses.

The plan builds on assets the region already has: the Tono, Vea and Tamne irrigation schemes; agro-industrial sites awaiting revival, including the Pwalugu Tomato Factory, the Zuarungu Meat Factory, the Pusu-Namongo cotton ginnery and the Bolgatanga rice mills; livestock farming; gold resources around Talensi; and the Paga border corridor.

The region has about 1.3 million people, most of them young and dependent on farming under a single rainy season, rising temperatures and growing pressure on land and water.

What the region is asking for

According to the report, the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) and A-Tech Group Korea have worked together for about a year on drone and satellite technology, training, academic exchange and agro-industry. Those talks have been put into a Memorandum of Understanding that still needs approval from the relevant authorities.

At its centre is a partnership with Bolgatanga Technical University to build drone and remote-sensing skills in the North, with the University of Technology and Applied Sciences (UTAS) in Navrongo as a second university partner.

Ms Bogobiri proposed five first steps: a drone and precision-agriculture pilot on the Vea or Tono scheme next farming season; a drone and geospatial training centre at Bolgatanga Technical University; a community water-treatment demonstration in at least one district; a Korean business visit to Bolgatanga; and a joint working group to turn talks into signed agreements.

In return, she said, the region would offer a single point of contact through the RCC and an independent PEARL Fund with its own board of trustees and a citizens’ oversight committee. Quoting a local saying, she told the forum that “one hand cannot tie a bundle.”

The report did not mention any funding commitments from the Korean side, and the terms of the MoU have not been made public.

Source: Radio Tamale (citing Graphic Online) — https://radiotamaleonline.com/blog/2026/11/05/upper-east-region-declares-readiness-for-korean-partnership-with-gh-8-6billion-pearl-plan