The Member of Parliament for Zebilla, Cletus Avoka, has called upon the government to prioritize the construction of an airport in Bolgatanga, the capital of the Upper East Region.
Mr Avoka underscores the critical need for swift medical attention, citing instances of lives lost during the transfer of patients to medical facilities in Greater Accra.
He argues that an airport in the region would not only expedite medical responses but also address security concerns, particularly amidst insurgencies in the Sahel and neighboring towns like Bawku.
Speaking to journalists in Parliament on Thursday, March 14, Avoka stressed the strategic significance of having an airport in the Upper East Region.
“We share a border with two countries and because of the security challenges in the Sahel, we need to mobilise troops to Bolgatanga and quickly deploy them to the areas if there is a problem which doesn’t exist in this modern era.
“Somebody is involved in an accident and unless there is a helicopter, which even takes three hours from Accra to Bolgatanga, but if there was a flight, it would have taken just one hour to Korle Bu and we are missing that due to the lack of an airport.”