Government to build more airstrips in the country-Vice President

Accra, July 2, GNA- Vice President John Dramani Mahama on Friday announced that Government would set up a committee to identify sites for the building of more airstrips across the country.

The move, he said, would not only open up the country for investment and movement, but would also help in the transportation of foodstuff from the farming communities to the marketing centres.

Vice President Mahama announced this when members of the Volta Foundation, non-governmental organization, called on him at the Osu Castle, Accra, to outline their development agenda to the presidency and areas that they could collaborate for effective development. The Vice President said although Ghana had already got some airstrips, there was the need to build more to open up the country to neighbouring countries and potential investors that government was working with. He said funds had been acquired to work on roads in the Eastern corridor of the Volta Region, linking the Northern, Upper East and West Region, and work would begin as soon as the procurement procedures were cleared.

The Vice President said the Volta Region had a lot of economic potentials and would therefore be given its share of the national cake. He called on the people to engage themselves in productive ventures that could attract financial support from governmental and non-governmental organizations.

Mr. Raymond Okudzeto, leader of the Foundation, called for the construction of a Harbour in the Anloga area and two airstrips in Keta and Hohoe of the Volta region to facilitate the movement of goods to neighbouring Togo, Benin and Nigeria.

He announced that they would soon release a total of 5,000 hectares of land to the government of Brazil to engage in agriculture, which could employ over 10,000 youth in the region.

He called on government to facilitate the operations of their Brazilian partners.

Mr. Okudzeto said the foundation was in consultation with the Chinese government to revamp some agricultural projects that were abandoned so many years ago and called on government to support them to achieve those goals. 2 July 10