The Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has said the proposed National Cathedral project will rake in more revenue for the state upon completion.
Speaking on GTV’s current affairs show Talking Point on Sunday 12 June 2022, Ofori-Atta said once completed and fully operational, the National Cathedral is projected to raise at least US$1.8 billion within the first five years of operation.
“With a conservative estimate of 300,000-400,000 attendees per year, we expect the project to bring in at least $1.8 billion over five years,” the finance minister said.
Ofori-Atta noted that the national edifice will attract a lot of religious tourists that will help bolster the economy like it happens in Israel and Saudi Arabia among other countries with similar projects.
“Constructing such a facility secures a steady arrival of religious tourists. Israel hosts more than four million people annually with an associated US$6 billion contribution to the economy. The Hajj pilgrimage on the other hand brings in 2.5 million attendees, with an associated economic impact of US$8 billion.
“These are all annual visitors. Essentially, by tapping into the “pilgrimage space”, you secure an additional “eternal rate of return” on our initial investment. Christians all over the world, particularly Africans in the diaspora, will be encouraged to celebrate their faith here with us in Ghana on an ongoing basis. Viewed from that lens, its evident the returns from the project would outlive all of us,” Ofori-Atta said.
He added: “Through the Cathedral, Ghana would then be well-positioned as a gateway “back to Africa” and a first point of entry for religious tourists to the continent. The proceeds from the project can then be redistributed to support social expenditures for the disenfranchised and working poor.”
Conceived by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as a physical embodiment of unity, harmony and spirituality, the National Cathedral will be the nation’s ceremonial landmark, Ghana’s ‘mother church’, where all denominations are welcomed to gather, worship and celebrate in spiritual accord.
The project, now referred to as the complex comprising three projects; The National Cathedral of Ghana, The Biblical Gardens of Africa, and The Bible Museum of Africa, will have 10 revenue streams, out of which the projected revenue is to be raised.
The revenue streams are; admissions into the Cathedral, the Museum, the Biblical Gardens, memberships, restaurant, coffee café, event catering, gift shop, meeting space rental, special events, on-line merchandise and on-line education.
On March 6, 2017, President Akufo-Addo outdoored his vision for the construction of a National Cathedral to be sited close to the State House in Accra.
At the ground-breaking ceremony, President described the proposed cathedral as an inter-denominational worship project which is also a thanksgiving gesture to God for the blessings God has bestowed on Ghana on the occasion of its 60th anniversary.
The architectural and structural design of the National Cathedral was done by British-Ghanaian Architect Sir David Adjaye, the founder and principal of Adjaye Associates.
The National Cathedral will house chapels and baptistery, a 5000-seater main auditorium which will be expandable to a 15,000-seater capacity for national events and celebrations, among other facilities.
President Akufo-Addo on 5 March 2020, laid the foundation stone which was imported from the Israeli capital of Jerusalem, the Holy Land, at the exact spot where the altar of the Cathedral will be situated when the building is completed to signify the commencement of constructions works.
