Ghanaian company offers to donate timber to rebuild Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris

A Ghanaian-owned company, Kete Krachi Timber Recovery Ltd. (KKTR), has offered to provide timber salvaged from its Volta Lake concession to support the rebuilding of Notre Dame Cathedral.

The timber from Volta Lake would provide quality, beauty and character, without having to cut down a single living tree.

The company, which is under the government’s One District One Factory initiative, said it would provide timber from the Volta Lake, which is high in quality with beauty and character.

It added that no tree would be cut down to provide the timber since it would be salvaged from the Volta Lake.

“The Notre Dame Cathedral belongs to the world and we want to do our part to support its reconstruction, and to ensure that the environmental impact of restoration is minimised,” a statement signed by Chief Executive Officer, Elkin Pianim read.

According to the company, the initiative would help raise awareness of how Ghana can contribute to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.

He added that it would entail substantial skill transfer and increased rural employment.

A massive blaze at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris last week devastated large parts of the 850-year-old church.

The fire is now out, but the cathedral's iconic spire fell during the hours it took to battle the blaze.

French President Emmanuel Macron, in an address to the nation, promised Parisians that they will "rebuild this cathedral together."