Over $100m needed to complete Tamale Airport upgrade – Manager

The $100 million approved by Parliament for the upgrade and expansion of the Tamale Airport to an international status, will not be enough to complete the project, Mr Emmanuel Mends Fynn, Project Manager in-charge of Civil Works of the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL), has revealed.

Mr Fynn said the $100 million cost approved by Parliament was based on initial estimates, which had now changed because of variations in the scope of work to be done.

He said the GACL had now done a detailed design of the design and build project, which amongst others, included a total reconstruction of the runway, instead of rehabilitation amongst other facilities, which necessitates an increase in the contract sum.

Mr Fynn stated this when he briefed members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Roads and Transport, on the progress of work on the upgrade and expansion of the Tamale Airport in Tamale on Sunday.

Members of the Committee, who visited the project site to observe the progress of work, later inspected on-going reconstruction works on the extended runway of the Airport.

The government, in September last year, cut the sod to officially commence work on the upgrade and expansion of the Tamale Airport to an international status, to enable it to amongst other things, admit international flights, as well as accommodate bigger aircraft.

This followed Parliamentary approval of $100 million to undertake the project, which is being carried out by Queiroz Galvao, a Brazilian construction firm, and scheduled to be completed by September this year.

Mr Fynn said other detailed designs were being done, adding that the additional funds needed to complete the project would be determined when the designs were completed.

Mr Charles Asare, Acting Managing Director of GACL, said the need for additional funds to complete the project would not affect its (project) delivery on schedule.

However, this revelation did not go down well with some members of the Committee, who said that Parliament approved the $100 million based on records submitted to it, which suggested that detailed costing of the project was done.

Mr Michael Boampong, Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Roads and Transport, who expressed satisfaction with the progress of work on the project, urged GACL to submit the new cost of the project to Parliament for approval, to ensure its completion on schedule.