Expectations are high as government is set to commission the Kumasi Airport, now Nana Agyemang Prempeh I International Airport on May 10, 2024.
President Akufo-Addo will join the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Minister of Transport Kwaku Ofori Asiamah and the Managing Director of the Ghana Airport Company Limited, Yvonne Nana Afiriyie Opare, as well as other dignitaries to commission the project.
The Kumasi Airport is poised to commence full operations by June this year after its commissioning on May 10.
The facility, now under the management of the Ghana Airport Company Limited, is currently undergoing equipment testing essential for both domestic and international flights.
With a capacity to accommodate over Eight hundred thousand (800,000) passengers annually, primarily from the northern and middle belt regions, the airport is set to meet the increasing demand for air travel.
Contractors have disclosed plans to expand the runway and intend to demolish outdated facilities once the new terminal is operational.
The Transport Minister Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, during a recent tour of the project alongside Ghana Airport Company Limited management and Board Members, expressed satisfaction with the progress.
However, he also highlighted concerns regarding the long-term maintenance of the facility, and emphasized its importance to the socioeconomic development of the Ashanti Region and Ghana as a whole.
He said the coming of the airport will also reduce the stress of international travelers from Ashanti, Bono, Ahafo, Northern and Upper Regions of the country since they will no longer travel to Accra to access an international airport.
During a recent courtesy call on him at the Manhyia Palace by the Transport Minister and the Board and Management of the Ghana Airport Company Limited, Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II commended the government for the project’s realization.
He said considering the Ashanti Region’s vibrant economic activities, a project like the International Airport will undoubtedly lead to job creation and boost the local economy of the region.
Phase II of the project, which began in 2018, includes the construction of a new terminal building to handle one million passengers per annum, two boarding bridges, a road network, perimeter fence, a substation and parking lot, among others.