Kumasi airport will be a total waste if 3rd phase is not completed — Minister reveals

The Kumasi Airport will be a complete waste without the third phase and as a result may not be able to serve the intended purpose according to the Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei-Mensah.

He disclosed that it is incumbent on the government to have the phase three of the project executed alongside the ongoing second phase because it may not serve the intended purpose for the expansion if that is not done.

Speaking to Kwame Adinkra on Pure Fm in Kumasi, the Minister who recently visited the area together with Otumfuo Osei Tutu II fears the airport may cease to operate upon successful completion of the second phase.

“We visited the airport to inspect ongoing work on the phase two project together with the Senior Minister but we realized that after completion of the project, the airport will not be functional. The phase three will accommodate the fire station and the reader but if you complete the current one without these things, the airport will not work as expected”, he made the stalling revelation.

Mr Simon Osei-Mensah underscored the need for both the phase two and three to be implemented concurrently as a way of making the airport operate in full capacity upon completion indicating that an agreement and tje necessary documents have been prepared through cabinet and is awaiting parliamentary approval.

“I will not say it was an error on the part of the previous government but the financial constraints. After study of the project, we realized there will be trouble if we allow the second phase to be completed without working to have the final stage incorporated”, he revealed.

According to him, both the second and third phases of the project will take up 30 months technically barring other unforeseeable challenges promising that it will become a fully-fledged international airport capable of accommodating two Boeing 737.

“That is if the two aircrafts are parking at the same time taking into the maneuvering into consideration but for stationary ones, it can take more than two. There is also room for expansion because the passenger traffic has increased”, he revealed.