The much-anticipated commission of the Kumasi International Airport is scheduled for May 10, 2024 by the government.
The event will be graced by President Akufo-Addo, the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Minister of Transport Kwaku Ofori Asiamah and the Managing Director of the Ghana Airport Company Limited, Yvonne Nana Afiriyie Opare, as well as other dignitaries to commission the project.
The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has inspected ongoing work on construction of the Kumasi International Airport, which, according to the contractor, is currently 77% complete, and is expected to be completed in June 20224.
President Akufo-Addo visited the site of the construction on Friday, 1st October 2021, when he commenced his 4-day working visit to the Ashanti Region, as part of his annual working visits to all the Regions of the country.
It will be recalled that on 6th June 2018, the President cut the sod for the commencement of work on Phase Two of the Kumasi Airport Project, where he indicated that “the expansion of this airport is a critical part of government’s vision to expand the frontiers of the aviation industry in the country and to realise the dream of making Ghana an aviation hub in West Africa.”
With a capacity to accommodate over Eight hundred thousand (800,000) passengers annually, primarily from the northern and middle belt regions, the airport is set to meet the increasing demand for air travel.
Contractors have disclosed plans to expand the runway and intend to demolish outdated facilities once the new terminal is operational.
The Transport Minister Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, during a recent tour of the project alongside Ghana Airport Company Limited management and Board Members, expressed satisfaction with the progress.
However, he also highlighted concerns regarding the long-term maintenance of the facility and emphasized its importance to the socioeconomic development of the Ashanti Region and Ghana as a whole.
He said the coming of the airport will also reduce the stress of international travellers from Ashanti, Bono, Ahafo, Northern and Upper Regions of the country since they will no longer travel to Accra to access an international airport.
During a recent courtesy call on him at the Manhyia Palace by the Transport Minister and the Board and Management of the Ghana Airport Company Limited, Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II commended the government for the project’s realization.
He said considering the Ashanti Region’s vibrant economic activities, a project like the International Airport will undoubtedly lead to job creation and boost the local economy of the region.
Phase II of the project, which began in 2018, includes the construction of a new terminal building to handle one million passengers per annum, two boarding bridges, a road network, a perimeter fence, a substation and parking lot, among others.
