Accra International Conference Centre: A Brief History

The Accra International Conference Centre popularly referred to as AICC, is arguably the most popular event hosting centre in Ghana, notable for hosting almost all the major events in Ghana.

With a total capacity of 6,000, which have been divided into six conference halls, the AICC is among the biggest enclosed event hosting centres in the country, hosting musical concerts, comedy shows and diplomatic conferences in Accra.

Located at Osu, directly opposite the new parliament house and some few metres away from the Accra Sports Stadium, the AICC was built in 1991 under the presidency of former President Jerry John Rawlings to host the historic Tenth Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement.

Since then it has gone on to host other major events and conferences such as summits by the United Nations, African Union and ECOWAS, while it has also become the ideal place for hosting entertainment events in the capital.

Even though it was built in the 90s, the AICC is one of the most modern event centres in West Africa, boasting of modern transmission technology, a press gallery and other facilities that make it media and technology-friendly.

In recent years, the centre has been under immense pressure from event organisers as the population growth is gradually rendering the 6000 capacity venue inadequate to meet market demand. This has resulted in the putting up of a dome-like structure at the car park of the Conference Centre, to make up for the demand for larger capacity.

While there have been no talks of expansion, the constant demand for a larger venue like the Trade Fair Dome could persuade the government to make some renovations and add more capacity to the AICC in future.