The Aviation Minister, Joseph Kofi Adda, has told Asaase Radio that the strategic choice of location for the proposed international airport will make its operation more feasible.
The facility, dubbed the West Central Airport, will be sited in Cape Coast, which will conveniently serve residents of both the Central and Western Regions.
The Aviation Minister offered the explanation this morning (24 August) in response to wide speculation about the viability of the airport.
Adda told Kojo Mensah of The Asaase Breakfast Show that the location of the airport will make it easy to travel to not one, but two regions, both of which are endowed with tourism potential. The Western Region also has a healthy oil and gas industry.
Mixed reactions
Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia, in a speech on Saturday 22 August at the launch of the NPP’s Election 2020 manifesto in Cape Coast, announced the government’s intention to build the airport in the Central Region.
“For the people of Cape Coast, I have good news for you,” Dr Bawumia said. “We are building a new harbour in Cape Coast and a new airport in Cape Coast.”
The vice-president said that the new airport will be critical to support what he described as one of the country’s major tourism and economic hubs.
But the announcement provoked mixed reactions, with some questioning the project’s soundness.
However, the Aviation Minister believes that investment in a Cape Coast airport is viable and will stimulate the local economy.
Prioritising resources
“There are equally important and competitive areas throughout the entire nation, but government resources are limited, so we have to prioritise them. Every sector has got its areas of priority and my sector is to work on expanding the infrastructure and opening [Ghana] up for business,” he said.
“We are also developing the far end of it – the Takoradi airport side. Remember that today, as we speak, the only airport in the Western Region is the air force base, which is very small and is not good for international business,” he said.
Adda announced that the West Central Airport project is nearing the stage where work can begin on it. Similar projects in the Western Region are also in the pipeline, he said.
The Aviation Minister told The Asaase Breakfast Show that work on the projects will commence soon and said they are expected to win parliamentary approval early next year.
Fred Dzakpata
* Asaase Radio 99.5 – tune in or log on to broadcasts online.
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