Tamale, Oct. 11, GNA - Tamale Metropolitan Assembly (TAMA) in collaboration with Louisville, Kentucky in the United States, is to develop a housing project to attract residents and people in the Diaspora to the area.

The "Airport City Housing" project would use new building technologies and utilise the large clay deposits in Tamale. Mr Mohammed Amin Adam, Tamale Metropolitan Chief Executive announced this at a press conference in Tamale on Thursday after the return of a five-member delegation of the assembly from Louisville. The 10-day visit initiated by the two sister cities, was to consolidate the relations between them and in addition, afford them the opportunity to explore areas of cooperation.

Mr Adam said the project would provide office accommodation for NGOs, citizens from the Northern Region resident abroad who intended to build houses.

He said the delegation had discussions with the Waste Management Department of the City of Louisville that had donated a refuse truck, street sweeper, computers and television sets to help address the problem of refuse management in Tamale Metropolis. Mr Adam said Mr Jerry Abramson, Mayor of Louisville also discussed the designing of a strategic development plan for Tamale, which would become the blue print for investment from the international market.

Mr Adam said the delegation also explored the possibility of extending services of UPS, a courier company in the United States to Tamale and making the metropolis its West African hub. On tourism development, he said the Convention Visitors' Bureau in charge of Louisville tourism issues, had agreed to assist tourism development and marketing of Tamale, with particular reference to events leading to "CAN 2008".

He said the assembly was therefore, preparing an inventory of all hotels, a map of Tamale, photographs of interesting sites and other services to be submitted to the bureau to design brochures that would meet international standards. Mr Adam said the assembly had begun a process to undertake a comprehensive street naming and house numbering project at a cost of 300,000 Ghana cedis.

He said there were discussions with officials of Louisville Chamber of Commerce and World Trade Centre on the investment potentials of Tamale with particular reference to shea butter processing, maize, organic mango, sorghum, soya beans cultivation and handicrafts.