National Cathedral: Construction work resumes

Construction work has resumed on the country’s National Cathedral at Ridge in Accra.

This comes after work on the site designated for the construction of the Cathedral was stalled due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country.

Demolition works on the houses and offices on the site earmarked for the cathedral has begun as the occupants have vacated the premises.

Offices including the Passport Office had to be relocated to another building at Ridge.

The construction of the Cathedral began on Thursday, 5 March 2020.

The Board of Trustees of the Cathedral supervised the demolition of structures within the earmarked area for the construction of the cathedral including houses of some judges.

President Nana Akufo-Addo has been sharply criticised over the project with many arguing that it is not a priority project taking into consideration the country’s developmental needs.

But the president, in indirect responses to the criticisms, insisted that the state will not fund the construction but rather it has facilitated the process by offering the land in question to be used while stressing that the decision to build a national cathedral was a pledge.

The cathedral will accommodate close to 20,000 Ghanaians during national programmes such as swearing-in of presidents-elect, state burials and major Christian programmes among others.

At the moment, the National Theatre, which is Ghana’s most preferred edifice for use in national activities, can only accommodate 1,400 Ghanaians.