A sod-cutting ceremony has been held for the construction of an ultramodern palace for the Ave Traditional area.

Dr Prince Sodoke Amuzu, Akatsi North District Chief Executive (DCE), and Mr Peter Nortsu-Kotoe, Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, joined Togbe Nyamekor Glakpe V, Paramount Chief of the area to cut the sod for the commencement of work on the community self-help project.

The DCE told the community that the project was part of efforts at building the necessary infrastructure to elevate the District capital, and that the Assembly had already created several access roads to the site.

“The local government has a befitting shelter, so must the traditional area," he said, adding that Dakpa was no longer the home of natives alone, and must be given the needed structures to augment tourism development.

Dr Amuzu said upon completion, the palace would become a community on its own, and would be large enough to house a traditional council, and appealed to the Ave Dakpa community to extend the needed support towards its speedy realisation.

Mr Nortsu-Kotoe said stakeholders were working on granting the area the status of a traditional council, and that there was the need to first dignify the chieftaincy institution in the District.

Togbe Nyamekor Glakpe said the MP had requested for a site to construct the palace, and added that he was pleased the project attracted the support of the DCE and the Assembly.

Mr Prince Ahiabu, Presiding Member of the Assembly, charged the community to help maintain the project site and its surroundings, calling for proper sanitary practices.

He said the project would be an icon in the area, and would be a significant addition to the seat of the Paramountcy.

Construction materials including sand, and several hundreds of bricks have been conveyed to the site, with work expected to commence immediately.