Tourism minister inspects Marine Drive project
The Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs Barbara Oteng-Gyasi, has inspected ongoing works at the Marine Drive project site in Accra to see the progress of work.
The project, which is being undertaken by the ministry, with support from 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 when completed.
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Inspection
During the inspection, Mrs Oteng-Gyasi expressed satisfaction with the progress of work done by the Anchor Developers who had almost completed demolishing structures and resettlement of the occupiers at the project site to conclude preparatory works for the commencement of the project.
The Tourism Minister, who is also the New Patriotic Party Member of Parliament (MP) for the Prestea-Huni Valley Constituency, pointed out that a number of investors in the hospitality industry had shown great interest in the Marine Drive project.
She, therefore, charged the Project Management Team to expedite action on the processes to bring on board private sector investment for the successful completion of the long-awaited historic project.
Delegation
Briefing the delegation, the Managing Director of Attachy Construction Limited, Mr Kwame Attah Acheampong, indicated that the work was on course because most of the structures on the site had been cleared to pave way for the project.
The Project Coordinator of the Marine Drive project, Mr Frederick Frimpong, put the area cleared to be about 80 per cent, adding that all stakeholders had cooperated with the team on the ground.
Dubbed “Marine Drive Tourism and Investment Project”, the objective of the initiative is to help decongest the Accra city centre, re-instate land for a befitting status of the capital city, and attract investment in the city centre for businesses and leisure purposes.
Background
It is being undertaken to change the face of tourism in the country, and when completed, it is expected to have hotels, restaurants, amusement parks, a cultural village, recreational centres, malls, among others.
The project is expected to cover a total of 241 acres, which stretch from the Christiansborg Castle at Osu to the Arts Centre in the Gamashie enclave which is under the Public-Private-Partnership arrangement.
As part of the project, a Monumental Garden will also be built in honour of the Big Six (the famous names most attached to Ghana’s independence struggle) for their contribution to the development of the country.
The officials who accompanied Mrs Oteng-Gyasi to the project site were the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dr Ziblim Iddi Barri; the Chief Director of the ministry, Alhaji Abdulai Yakubu and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Tourism Authority, Mr Akwasi Agyemang.
The rest were the Director in charge of Human Resources, Mr Vitus Otto Langmagne, and the Public Relations Officer, Mr Alhassan Abubakar Sadik, both from the Ministry of Tourism.
