Executive Director of the National Cathedral of Ghana, Dr. Paul Opoku Mensah, has defended the expenditures that has been incurred in the cathedral’s construction.
This comes as many Ghanaians have described the cathedral project as the most expensive pit in the world because even though over $30 million has been spent on the project, no physical structure can be seen at the site.
But, in an interview with the media on Thursday May 21, Dr Opoku said that some Ghanaians are describing the project as the world’s most expensive pit because they don’t know the nature of work that has gone into it.
He explained that two floors have already been constructed underground and the only major work that has to be done is the placement of a steel structure.
He added that the construction of the cathedral has now stalled because the steel structure will cost $100 million which has not been raised yet.
“After finishing the foundation, we need money that we will use to import all the steel we need. The steel component of the cathedral will be built before it is brought into the country for us to fix.
“After fixing it, we will be left with the concrete and marble cladding and some few works. So, this is why there is a setback in the construction of the cathedral.
“We need about $100 to import the steel. The cathedral is not a small building. It will be a structure, we have never seen in Ghana before,” he said in Twi.