More airports coming - Akufo-Addo

The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has indicated the government’s intention to construct more airports to serve as feeders to the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).

According to the President, it is also a way to open up the country to the rest of the continent in the interest of the nation, as far as developing the aviation sector of the country is concerned.

Even, while putting up new airports, President Akufo-Addo also said the existing ones would continue to undergo what he described as systematic facelifts.

“Our airports will continue to undergo systematic facelifts through infrastructure rehabilitation. We also intend to continue to open up the country by constructing additional airports to serve as feeders to go to [the] Kotoka International Airport.”

Before this statement the President had said that the Ministry of Aviation had initiated plans for a dedicated programme dubbed ‘Aviation Driven Development’. This programme, the President highlighted, seeks to use aviation as a driver of socio-economic transformation.

The President was speaking at the opening ceremony of the 28th Airports Council International (ACI) Annual General Assembly and Regional Conference and Exhibition, ongoing in Accra.

In his speech, President Akufo-Addo remarked that the progress being made in the aviation sector was ample evidence of our commitment to collaborate and cooperate with all industry stakeholders, and to champion the cause of global and regional policies.

Touting some credentials of the Ghana aviation industry, which has been adjudged the best in West Africa, and fourth in Africa, he believed the sector had seen considerable growth in recent years, made possible by the creation of a stable political social and economic climate.

“We’ve liberalised the regulatory framework in which the industry operates. In addition to this, [we] will abolish the 17.5% value-added tax on domestic affairs, which has led to almost a doubling of domestic air passenger traffic. International passenger numbers [have] grown by 6.7% as a September 2019 compared to 2018,” he asserted.

Currently, 38 airlines are operating in Ghana, and they connect directly to 30 different destinations around the globe.

The President said 1.3 million tourists visited Ghana in 2017, and the industry contributed US$2.7 billion to our GDP.

Meanwhile, there was a slight decline in 2018, with an industry contribution of US$2.5 billion to our GDP.