Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta
•Rehablitation works on the Sunyani Airport will soon be completed
•This would pave the way for commercial operations to commence at the airport
•The airport has over the years not witnessed any major renovation works
Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta has disclosed that the rehabilitation works on the Sunyani Airport is 94 percent complete.
According to him, the renovations works on the airport which will soon be completed will follow the commencement of scheduled commercial operations.
Making the disclosure at the presentation of the 2021 mid-year budget review, Ken Ofori-Atta explained that since the commencement of commercial operations, the Sunyani airport has not witnessed any major renovation works.
“In order to improve infrastructure and reopen the airport for commercial operations, a contract was awarded in 2018 for the rehabilitation of the existing runway, minimal renovation of the terminal building, construction of some airport internal roads and other auxiliary facilities. Rehabilitation works is 94 percent complete,” Mr. Ofori-Atta told lawmakers.
“The Sunyani Airport was originally constructed as an Airstrip, and later upgraded into an airport in 1969. The airport currently has a total runway length of 1,520 meters made up of 1,400 meters paved and 60 meters unpaved Runway End Safety Area (RESA) at both ends.”
“It has the capacity to handle and process 100 passengers per hour. Since the commencement of commercial operations, the airport has not had any major renovation works, resulting in the poor state of the airport including cracks and potholes on the runway,” he explained.
He continued, “In 2015, Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) and Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) shut down the airport as a precautionary measure to forestall any disaster. The rehabilitation and expansion of the airport is being carried out in phases.”