Winneba to benefit from one billion dollars investment project

Winneba (C/R), Jan. 21, GNA-The Caribbean Atlantic Holdings Company Limited, a foreign investment company and other prime investors from the Caribbean and the USA are to invest one billion dollars for the construction of an ultra modern beach resort at Winneba to boost tourism revenue. The project, dubbed: "Muni Lagoon Resort" is aimed at creating an

internationally competitive resort that readily makes Ghana a world tourism destination, compared to others such as Barbados, Tobago and Orlando.

Mr Edward Nimoh- Boateng, Chief Executive Officer of Caribbean Atlantic who made this known to the media at Winneba during a durbar of chiefs and people to give details on the project. He said the 1400-acre project would generate about 20,000 jobs and help market the Aboakyir festival to attract more tourists. He said the Ministry of Tourism and Diasporan Relations is the host agency for the facility which would provide at least 3,000 rooms of an international 5-Star standard with a myriad of tourist activities, a world class golf club and a stretch of two to three kilometres virgin beach.

The project, he said, was scheduled to take off by January 22, 2008 and would begin with preparatory socio-economic and engineering studies as well as detailed site planning and urban design. According to Mr. Nimoh-Boateng although the resort would be fully completed in 2015, it would partially start operations in 2009. He said considering the huge foreign exchange the facility could generate and the limited number of hospitality facilities in the country, which had become more evident with the hosting of the African Cup of Nations this year, the company was optimistic that the facility would yield positive results.

The CEO said the influx of foreigners into the country each day for one business or the other assignment and the increasing population, there was the need for more of these facilities to serve their accommodation needs.

Mr Nimoh-Boateng said the company was expecting to attract investments of over 700 million dollars into the project. Ms. Ann Marie Charles De Silva, Board Chairman of the company expressed regret on the mixed feeling of some of the people to about the project and urged them to support the company to enable the project to take off.

He said the Aboakyir festival alone has the potential to attract more tourists for it to become a world class festival, adding, "Give us Africans from the Diaspora the chance to invest so that we can all benefit from it", she added.

Mr. Stephen Asamoah-Boateng, Minister of Tourism and Diasporan Relations, said government supported the initiative and called on the people to also support it so that revenue could be generated to undertake development projects in the newly created Winneba municipality.

Mr. Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, former Ministry of Tourism said the time had come for the people to do away with any conflict of interest and open up to wealth creation by fully supporting the project to boost business opportunities in the town and improve their socio-economic status.

Mr. Samuel Owusu Agyei, Member of Parliament for the area and Minister of Public Sector Reform also welcomed the initiative and reiterated the need for the full support of the community. Nana Ato Arthur, Central Regional Minister pledged the Regional Coordinating Council's full support for the investment. The resort would have other facilities such as a thatched village, three 5-star water front hotels, recreational centre, aqua sports, health spa, air transport parks and submerged chalets, among others.