National Cathedral to generate $83 million after 5 years - Director

The National Cathedral is expected to generate about US$83 million within three to five years of its completion.

The Executive Director of the National Cathedral Secretariat, Dr Paul Opoku-Mensah, who disclosed this in an interview with Accra-based Citi FM on Tuesday, August 3, 2021, describes facilities to be built within the National Cathedral as “income generators.”

For him, the facility is a national investment, saying “What we are doing is actually an investment."

He explained that the National Cathedral will drive traffic to the country due to its uniqueness, pointing out that the cathedral has a Bible museum, "the first of its kind", he said, multi-purpose halls, a 350-seater restaurant, and banquet halls.

Dr Opoku-Mensah also disclosed that the project stalled not because of lack of funds but due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He also said the appeal to Ghanaians to contribute towards the building of the cathedral has received warm reception.

Background

The National Cathedral was proposed by the government in March 2017 as a physical embodiment of national unity, harmony and spirituality.

The design for the cathedral was unveiled by the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in March 2018.

He said at the time that the construction of the cathedral was in fulfilment of a promise he made to God in the run-up to the general election in 2016.

Work picked up in earnest in January 2020, with a fence wall bearing an artistic impression of the cathedral erected around the perimeter of the site.