She said investors from Europe, China, Turkey, the Middle East, Latin America and Africa have submitted proposals to the ministry which was considering selecting the most suitable for the project.

“I believe that our ability to look for the necessary funding and strategic partners will bring this laudable aerotropolis project into operation,” she said.

An aerotropolis is a metropolitan sub-region where the layout, infrastructure and economy are centered on an airport which serves as a multimodal "airport city" commercial core. It is similar in form to a traditional metropolis which contains a central city commercial core and commuter-linked suburbs, according to Wikipedia.

Benefits

Ms Dapaah, who made this known when she paid a courtesy call on the chiefs of the Ningo Traditional Council yesterday, stated that “when this project takes off, there are a lot of ancillary services that it will provide, from houses, light industries, free zones, cargo sections and hospitals.”

Accompanied by her deputy, Mr Kwabena Okyere Darko Mensah, officials of the Ghana Airports Company, the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and some chiefs of the Ningo Traditional Council, Ms Dapaah also inspected the 60,000 acre-land for the proposed new airport.

Commitment to project

The minister urged the chiefs of Ningo, the Ghana Airports Company and the GCAA to co-operate with the government to make the “mega project” a reality.

“Upon completion, this new facility will not be called airport but an aerotropolis which will provide enormous benefits not only to the nation but also the people of the area.

“It is the avowed vision of President Nana Akufo Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo to pursue this proposed project, hence we need to come together to see how best we can co-operate and work to accomplish this project,” Ms Dapaah appealed to stakeholders.

‘Kotoka unbefitting’

For his part, the acting President of the Ningo Traditional Council, Nene Kanor Atiapah, said it had been long since the government acquired land for the proposed new airport and, therefore, expressed optimism that the new government will see to the implementation of the project.

“If you travel outside and arrive in Ghana, you realise that the Kotoka International Airport does not befit Ghana as the airport appears like a playground,” he noted.

Nene Atiapah, who is also the Vice-President of the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs, indicated that most of the lands in the Ningo Traditional Area were family-owned.

“All the families that own lands in this area have representatives on the council so we want the government to refrain from dealing with individuals and families when it comes to land acquisition as every land deal must go through the council to ensure the success of the project,” he added.