Tourism Minister Unveils Ghana-Centre Of World Monument

The Ghana Tourism Development Company (GTDC) has unveiled the Ghana-Centre of the World Monument.

With Ghana being the nearest habitable land to the point where the Greenwich Meridian Line or Longitude 0ᵒ meets the Equator or Latitude 0ᵒ in the Atlantic Ocean, the Ghana Tourism Development Company has designated 3 major locations where the Greenwich Meridian Line passes as the Ghana-Centre of the World Project sites.

The Greenwich meridian (longitude zero degrees) meets with latitude zero degrees at the south of Ghana. That point of intersection is the geographic centre which is 611km from Ghana.

According to Lieutenant Commander Stephen Manu of the Ghana Navy who was onsite to explain the phenomenon, although the figure might seem big in real terms, it places Ghana as the most proximate country to the centre of the earth.

Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Barbara Oteng-Gyasi

“You may think 611km is too high, but however, that’s the smallest distance from any country with reference to the centre of the earth, he stressed”

The site is located at Hole Seven of the Tema Country Golf Club where the unveiling was done last Saturday as part of the Year of Return edition of the annual Ghana-Centre of the World Golf Tournament organised by the Ghana Tourism Development Company (GTDC) who are spearheading Ghana as the Centre of the Earth project.

Speaking to the Press on the sidelines of the event, the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs. Barbara Oteng-Gyasi said government is desirous of developing a project around it to sell Ghana as the centre of the earth.

The monument is at the site Greenwich Meridian line runs southward to meet the equator in the ocean

“This project comprises supporting the Tema Golf Club to develop the golf course into an international standard one which can host international golf tournaments here in Ghana. We are also going to develop a religious aspect to the project which is the Presbyterian Church, located in Community One which will be a religious pilgrimage site for tourists coming to Ghana.

“We are also going to build an iconic tower just like any tower that you can identify in other countries; for instance, the Eiffel Tower in Paris. We are also going to develop a Port for passenger cruise ships to dock in Ghana to come and see the positioning of Ghana as the Centre of the Earth”, the Minister said.

CE0, GTDC, Kwadwo Antwi

Stressing the importance of the passenger terminal for instance, CEO, GTDC, Kwadwo Antwi said it will be a great way of boosting the country’s tourism receipts.

“We are working with the authorities at Ghana Ports to be able to develop a passenger terminal for cruise ships. We have been told from their manifest that there are cruise ships passing upwards of 15,000 and 30,000 people. So we’ve asked ourselves what it would look like if we are able to discharge all these people for the purposes of holiday and for reveling.

GTDC staff and personnel from the Year of Return Secretariat in a group shot with the Minister and the GTDC CEO

“If they come here to our country it means our hotels are full, our restaurants are full, it means transportation services will be patronized, it means there will be people buying our arts and craft. So that is what is driving us to be able to create this ecosystem that not just create opportunity for people to have pleasure but to do business and to develop the country’s GDP as well,” averred Antwi

Mrs. Oteng-Gyasi said with consultants at the final stages of designs and estimates, the project will take off soon.

“Currently we have engaged consultants who are working very hard to finalise the designs and estimates for the projects. Once that is done, GTDC who is the agency in the forefront of the project will seek investors to collaborate with in order to realize the project.

Barbara Oteng-Gyasi teed off the Year of Return edition of the Ghana-Centre of the World Golf Tournament

We hope that by the end of next year we will have something on the ground to show for the Centre of the World project,” the Minister assured.