Mrs Barbara
Oteng-Gyasi, the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MoTAC), has led some
officials of the ministry to inspect the site for the construction of 1.2
billion dollar marine drive tourism investment project.
The iconic project is to be a
game-changer in turning the fortunes of tourism in Ghana, thereby improving on
the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The project, being undertaken by
the MoTAC, in collaboration with the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) and the
Ghana Tourism Development Company (GTDC), is expected to create 36,000 jobs
during the first phase and subsequently engage about 150,000 skilled and
unskilled personnel upon completion.
Mrs Oteng-Gyasi expressed satisfaction
that the project, which began during President Kwame Nkrumah’s era, would be
realised given the unwavering commitment by President Nana Addo Dankwa
Akufo-Addo to better the lot of Ghanaians.
She charged the team responsible
for the execution of the project to live up to their call and be part of
history as far as the implementation was concerned.
Mrs Oteng-Gyasi indicated that
many investors in the hospitality industry were showing huge interest in the
project due to its prospects.
Mr Kwame Attah Acheampong, the
Managing Director of the Attaché Construction Firm Limited, one of the Anchor
developers on the project, stressed that work was steadily on course, since
most of the structures on site had been cleared to pave way for construction.
Mr Frederick Frimpong, the Project
Coordinator, indicated that about 80 per cent of the site clearing had been
executed after which construction would start.
Its overall objective was to decongest
Accra city centre, reinstate land for a befitting status of the capital city,
and attract investment in the city centre for businesses and leisure purposes.
It was first mooted in 1963, and
in 2014, the then Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts Minister, Mrs Elizabeth
Ofosu-Adjare, took it a step further by getting Cabinet’s approval. But again,
it stalled because of challenges with the owners of the land.
Between 2002 and 2005, the late Minister
of Tourism and Modernisation of the Capital City, Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey,
also moved the project a step further by helping to put a design on paper and
subsequently to chalk the current feat.
The project is anchored on
the vision of changing the face of tourism in Ghana and when completed, is
expected to feature hotels, restaurants, amusement parks, cultural village,
recreational centres, malls and a convention centre.
It is expected to cover a total of
241 acres of land, which stretches from the Osu Christiansburg Castle to the
Arts Centre in the Ga Mashie enclave, which is under the Public-Private
Partnership (PPP) arrangement.
A monument would be built in honour
of the Big Six, for their significant contribution to the development of the
country. -GNA
