Engineers working on the second phase of the Tamale International Airport Development Project have said that work is about 25 per cent complete.

The project, costing $70 million and was commenced in September last year, is expected to be completed fully in 30 months.

The contractors on the project have, so far, constructed the footing of the terminal building, stabilised the grounds and undertaken engineering works on the Hajj and multipurpose building.

Work is also ongoing on access roads leading to the airport, while bulk storage facilities are also being constructed.

This came to light when the Minister of Aviation, Mr Joseph Kofi Adda; the Northern Regional Minister, Mr Salifu Saeed, and some officials of the Aviation Ministry paid a working visit to the project site to inspect progress of work last Wednesday.

Satisfaction

Speaking to the media after the tour, Mr Adda expressed satisfaction with work done so far by the contractors.

“They are committed contractors who are prepared to do a good job for us; our concern was with space, but the design shows that there is room for expansion,” he said.

He was, however, worried that the project might delay due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, considering that most of the materials needed for work on the project would have to be imported.

He said the airport could accommodate about 400,000 passengers per year when it was completed and it would be available as an alternative to the Kotoka International Airport.

‘No airport sale’

Commenting on recent reports that the government intended to sell Ghana’s airports to a foreign company, Mr Adda denied the claims and said no such deal had ever been conceived by the government.

“We need more workers, so why should someone in his right state of mind think that the government is going to sell the airport for people to lose their jobs?’ he asked.

While urging workers of the Ghana Airport Company Limited to ignore the false reports, he also assured them that their jobs were safe.

Commendation

For his part, Mr Saeed said the project demonstrated that the government cared for the people of the region and the entire northern part of the country.

Background

On Thursday, August 15, 2019, the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, cut the sod for the commencement of the second phase of the rehabilitation of the Tamale Airport.

The project is being funded by a United Kingdom Export Finance (UKEF) facility, with support from KFW IPEC-Bank, and is expected to be completed in 30 months.

The scope of work includes the construction of a modular airport terminal building of approximately 5,000 square metres, which is expandable in the future; a Hajj facility of approximately 1,000m2, a single carriageway access road, landside and airside infrastructure adapted to the terminal size and water, electricity and sewerage infrastructure deemed necessary for normal operations.

On completion, the new airport will have VVIP & VIP lounges, three boarding gates, four self-service check-in kiosks, 12 check-in desks, operational offices, airline offices, administrative offices, baby care, commercial and rental areas and an underground water tank.