with the Lekma Hospital receiving the first locally-produced liquid oxygen delivery as the company seeks to strengthen medical oxygen availability and reduce dependence on cylinder-based distribution.
The development marks a shift in Ghana’s medical oxygen supply chain, with hospitals moving toward bulk liquid oxygen storage systems that allow facilities to maintain larger reserves and reduce frequent replenishment challenges.
Indo-Ghana Managing Director Varun Tyagi said the company’s transition into liquid oxygen production was driven by operational challenges associated with traditional oxygen cylinder distribution, including high logistics costs, transportation delays and difficulties reaching healthcare facilities consistently.
“Over the years, one of the biggest challenges when it comes to distribution of oxygen is that the packaging material, the cylinders, are much more expensive than the product itself and refilling of cylinders requires a lot of logistical exercise. In Africa, distribution costs are too high,” Mr. Tyagi said.
Indo-Ghana Industries was established in Ghana in 2010 and initially focused on manufacturing gaseous oxygen for industrial and medical use. The company later expanded its operations to liquid oxygen production after identifying supply constraints that became more pronounced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the pandemic, the company was among the major suppliers of medical oxygen to hospitals, but the experience exposed weaknesses in the distribution system. Hospitals relied heavily on cylinders that had to be repeatedly transported between facilities and suppliers for refilling.
Mr. Tyagi said the introduction of liquid oxygen addresses those limitations by allowing hospitals to store significantly larger quantities of oxygen on-site.
“The same size of tank can carry as much as 1,000 cylinders worth of oxygen gas. What it does is reduce transportation and distribution challenges,” he said.
At Lekma, the first recipient of the locally-produced liquid oxygen supply, the new system is expected to provide a more reliable buffer against shortages. Mr. Tyagi said the volume supplied to the hospital could sustain operations for about three months, reducing the need for frequent emergency requests.
The facility’s Head of Clinical Engineering, Saviour Demordzie, said the installation has already improved oxygen availability and reduced pressure on hospital staff managing supply needs.
“Our frequent calls for oxygen have reduced. There is a constant pressure and flow of oxygen at the facility. And because it is a liquid oxygen plant, we have a higher purity of oxygen delivered to the patient,” Mr. Demordzie said.
Before the introduction of the liquid oxygen system, Lekma relied on a combination of oxygen plants and cylinders supplied by external vendors. Mr. Demordzie said delays in receiving supplies created risks, particularly when oxygen stocks were depleted before replacement deliveries arrived.
He said the liquid oxygen system provides greater certainty because the hospital can maintain reserves and monitor pressure levels rather than depending on frequent cylinder replacement.
“Before, when the oxygen was finishing, you had to call vendors to come. If you were not fortunate, the unfortunate could happen. But with this system, once the tank is full, you know you have oxygen available for the next two months,” he said.
Indo-Ghana’s Engineer, Eduardo Bojador Bonifacio, said the liquid oxygen system also improves operational efficiency by reducing manual processes and connecting storage facilities directly to hospital supply networks.
“This one can save time and minimise human error in supplying oxygen to patients,” he said.
The company’s cryogenic manufacturing facility at Apollonia Industrial Enclave has the capacity to produce liquid oxygen locally. Indo-Ghana currently produces liquid oxygen alongside other industrial gases, including liquid nitrogen, gaseous oxygen and nitrogen, acetylene, ammonia, argon and beverage gases.
Mr. Tyagi said the company’s broader strategy is to develop a hub-and-spoke distribution model, where central production facilities are supported by smaller filling stations closer to hospitals across different regions.
“The idea is not just to limit it to one hospital. If there is a hospital in Bolga or any other remote part of Ghana, we want to supply through regional hubs so that the distance and dependency reduce,” he said.
The expansion comes as Ghana continues efforts to strengthen domestic healthcare infrastructure and improve access to essential medical supplies. The company said partnerships with institutions including USAID, CHAI, JHPEIGO have supported the installation of liquid oxygen storage tanks at about 10 hospitals, while additional facilities have received support through other programmes.
Mr. Tyagi said the availability of storage infrastructure was critical because production capacity alone would not solve supply challenges if hospitals lacked the ability to receive and preserve liquid oxygen.
The company, however, identified financing constraints, electricity costs and delayed payments from some healthcare institutions as key challenges affecting the sustainability of medical oxygen production.
According to Mr. Tyagi, electricity accounts for about 42 percent to 45 percent of production costs, making power reliability and tariff levels significant factors for the industry.
He called for medical oxygen production to be treated as a critical industry, with measures that protect manufacturers from disruptions that could affect hospital supplies.
“Medical oxygen production falls under critical industry. There should be provisions to ensure that if there is any power reduction or outage, companies producing oxygen are informed early and arrangements are made so that they are not disconnected,” he said.
In its outlook, Indo-Ghana plans to expand its liquid oxygen network and use technology such as telemetry systems to monitor hospital consumption patterns, improve forecasting and support more efficient distribution.
Mr. Tyagi said the company’s objective is to build a more data-driven oxygen supply system that allows Ghana to meet domestic needs before considering wider regional expansion.
“We are moving Ghana toward the next generation of medical services. Liquid oxygen is the first step toward making sure we are able to reach the last mile and make oxygen more accessible across the country,” he said. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).
