[ 2015-03-28 ]

International Airlines not Using Kumasi Airport-Transport Minister
No airline has applied to operate the Kumasi
Airport internationally despite the facility being
granted international status, Mrs Dzifa Aku
Attivor, Minister for Transport told Parliament on
Thursday.


The facility now is running only domestic flights,
she added.



Mrs Attivor drew the attention to the plight on
the use of the airport when answering an urgent
question that stood in the name of Dr Mathew Opoku
Prempeh, MP for Manhyia South.



Dr Prempeh wanted to know the total cost breakdown
for the rehabilitation of the Kumasi Airport that
had been announced as US$29 million.



The date for the granting of international status
to the facility is unclear as the Minister
mentioned 2009, while some sources within the
aviation industry pointed to the year 2003.



The Minister said the airport built in 1943 is one
of the busiest domestic airports in Ghana, and it
was currently served by Antrak, Africa and Star
Bow Airlines.



It has an annual domestic turnout of about 450,000
passengers.



Mrs Ativor said the two components to the Kumasi
Airport Rehabilitation project were the
rehabilitation of existing airfield pavements and
the provision and installation of aeronautical
ground lighting system.



President John Dramani Mahama and the Asantehene,
Otumfuo Osei Tutu ll jointly inaugurated the
aeronautical ground lighting (AGL) system at the
Kumasi International Airport (KIA) last December.



The $4.9 million project forms part of the major
refurbishment that has transformed Kumasi into an
international airport.



On a rare night, President Mahama last December
made the symbolic first landing with the
presidential jet from Abuja, Nigeria, where he had
attended the 46th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS
Authority of Heads of State and Government.



His arrival at the airport opened the gates for
the Kumasi International Airport, which had
operated earlier from 0600 to 1800 hours, to start
operating 24 hours.



In 2013, the Government of Ghana embarked upon a
phased development of the Kumasi Airport to
provide the requisite infrastructure for safe
domestic and international operations in lauding
night operations.



With the new lease of life, the 71-year-old
airport is set to accommodate bigger aircraft and
begin the process to turn Ghana into an aviation
hub in the sub-region.



Many saw the emergence of Ghana's second
international airport in Kumasi as a major step
towards boosting the economy of Kumasi, nicknamed
the Garden City in particular and the Ashanti
Region in general.



Meanwhile, the Legislature is sitting into late
evening before it rises for the Easter recess on
Thursday.

Source - GNA

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