Aviation Minister Joseph Kofi Adda has indicated that the newly refurbished Wa Airport, will be opened to domestic commercial air flights within two weeks to boost economic activities in the Upper West Region.
He said several local airlines including Unity Air, African, Ashanti Air and Baby Jet have shown profound interest to operate in the Region, which would likely bring down air flight cost.
Mr Adda was in the Region to inspect the Airstrip with a two-kilometre tarmac stretching 40 metres width with the capacity to host Code C type aircraft together with Boeing 737-700 Airbus and Embraer ERJ 190-100.
He said few modifications have been spotted, which government would have to mobilise some resources to effect and open up the landing strip to domestic flights to boost transportation.
“I think it is fairly ok for us to start operations, the technical people will do their testing; they will come back to us with their reports by the weekend, so hopefully by early next week or two weeks, operations will start,” he said.
“We would have come with a commercial airline, but we had to come ahead of them to certify the pressure that they need for the tarmac,” he told the press”.
Mr Adda said the opening of the aerodrome was in line with government commitment to make Ghana an aviation hub, adding it‘s [government] was making arrangement for operation of a pilot training school in Accra.
He said government was also considering opening aircrafts service centre in Ghana to ease high cost of servicing planes outside the country which hovers around $1million per one.
He expressed the hope that the aircraft service centre and the pilots’ training school would provide enormous opportunities to young people in the country in terms of job opportunities and career development.
He said government had concluded various agreements with some domestic airlines to fly direct from Accra to Wa, saying: “There are a few other airlines that are coming on board. I think one has just been granted the approval fully”.
The Aviation Minister was accompanied by his Deputy Mr Kwabena Okyere Darko, Upper West Regional Minister Alhaji Sulemana Alhassan, Mrs Christina Edmund, Ag Chief Director of Ministry of Aviation, Mr Simon Allotey, Director-General of Ghana Civil Aviation Authority and Mr John Attafuah, Managing Director of Ghana Airports Company.
GNA