Anticipation is mounting as the government prepares to inaugurate the Kumasi Airport, now renamed the Nana Agyemang Prempeh I International Airport, on May 10, 2024.
President Akufo-Addo will be joined by Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Minister of Transport Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, Managing Director of the Ghana Airport Company Limited Yvonne Nana Afiriyie Opare, and other dignitaries for the commissioning ceremony.
Following the commissioning, the Kumasi Airport is slated to commence full operations by June this year. Managed by the Ghana Airport Company Limited, the facility is currently undergoing equipment testing crucial for both domestic and international flights.
With a capacity to handle over 800,000 passengers annually, mainly from the northern and middle belt regions, the airport is poised to meet the growing demand for air travel.
Contractors have outlined plans to expand the runway and demolish outdated facilities once the new terminal is operational.
Transport Minister Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, after a recent project inspection with Ghana Airport Company Limited management and Board Members, expressed satisfaction with the progress.
However, he also raised concerns about the long-term maintenance of the facility, emphasizing its significance for the socioeconomic development of the Ashanti Region and Ghana as a whole.
He noted that the airport’s establishment would ease the burden on international travelers from the Ashanti, Bono, Ahafo, Northern, and Upper Regions, who would no longer need to travel to Accra for international flights.
During a courtesy visit to the Manhyia Palace by the Transport Minister and the Ghana Airport Company Limited Board and Management, Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II commended the government for realizing the project.
He highlighted the airport’s potential to create jobs and stimulate the local economy, given the vibrant economic activities in the Ashanti Region.
Phase II of the project, initiated in 2018, includes constructing a new terminal building capable of handling one million passengers annually, two boarding bridges, a road network, perimeter fence, substation, and parking lot, among other facilities.