Ghana’s aviation industry is set to get a major boost as plans are currently underway to convert the Kumasi Airport into one that meets international standards.
This would make the Kumasi Airport the second international airport in Ghana.
Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei-Mensah indicated that expansion works are expected to be completed by the middle of 2021.
He was speaking at the Nation Building Updates on Tuesday, November 10, 2020, at the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences.
He indicated that, “we are extending the runway by an additional 230 meters and it can take Boeing 737-800 and that is what we call an international airport. So that when I check-in at Kumasi, I will not stop in Accra but fly straight to the United Kingdom. That is what we are going to see latest by the middle of next year.”
The project involves the extension of the runway from 1981m to 2300m to accommodate Boeing 737-800 series aircraft, construction of a new terminal, construction of additional aprons and other ancillary works.
It is estimated to cost about 300 million dollars to implement the entire expansion works on the airport in order for it to attain the status of an international airport.
Upon completion, the airport’s new terminal is estimated to handle over one million passengers per annum.
Work to upgrade the Kumasi Airport to international standard was started under the John Mahama-led administration.
After work on phase one was completed in 2014, then President Mahama later cut sod in December 2016 for expansion works to begin.
In June 2018, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo cut the sod for the second phase of the expansion of Kumasi Airport, which is expected to be completed in 24 months.
The expansion project was part of the multi-modal transportation system being developed by the government to enhance tourism in the Ashanti Region.
Presently, the Kotoka International Airport is Ghana’s only international airport which has the capacity for large aircraft such as the Airbus A380.
K.I.A. was recently in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic awarded the Airports Council International’s (ACI) Airport Health Accreditation certificate.
The ACI Airport Health Accreditation (AHA) programme enables airports to demonstrate to passengers, staff, regulators and governments that they are prioritizing health and safety in a measurable and established manner.
