Next year will mark a major milestone in the celebration of Ramadan in Ghana, as the ten million dollar sponsored ultra modern national mosque complex at Kanda, Accra will be commissioned.
Under the instrumentality of President Dramani Mahama and the Turkish government, the world class edifice, being sponsored by Turkish Hudai Foundation, according contractors will be ready for use early next year.
With three entrances, the 33 metres high mosque which will accommodate about 10,000 worshippers, will replace an old central mosque that was pulled down at Mokola following a demolition exercise some years back. It will also house a school complex, residence for the National Chief Imam and a spacious car park.
The new central mosque will also have a clinic, an administration block, an auditorium and a conference centre.
So far, three out the four minarets the mosque is expected to have, have been erected, with the last one under construction.
In an interview with The Finder newspaper, a member of the construction technical committee and General Secretary of Council of Muslim Cheifs, Alhaji Billy Bramah said that all the walls around the mosque would be covered with special marble form Turkey while the domes would be covered with lead metal sheets.
He disclosed that parts of the roofing materials have arrived in the country recently from Turkey, and they would soon be used to cover the domes, adding that the floor of the mosque would be covered with carpets.
According to The Finder newspaper report, Alhaji Bramah said out of the $10million voted for the complex, between $5.5 million and $6million would be spent on the mosque while the rest would be used to construct one Teacher Training College, a Senior High School (SHS), and two administrative blocks, one to serve as office of the National Chief Imam.
He said the Teacher Training College was to compliment government’s efforts aimed at producing enough teachers to close the current deficit.
Partners implementing the project are Office of the National Chief Imam, Presidency of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, Human Development International (HUDAI) and Ghana Friendship and Solidarity Association (GANADER), a Turkish Non-Governmental Organizations.
Alhaji Billy Bramah added that the Turkish experts working on the project are also transferring technical know-how to their Ghanaian counterparts.
