Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, Minister of Transport

Negotiations have started with the banks to raise funds for the completion of the Air Navigation Services (ANS) center at Kotoka International Airport (KIA), Transport Minister Kweku Ofori Asiamah told parliament.

The ANS Center, a five-story building with a basement, is about 92 percent complete, according to the minister.

It will provide air traffic management (ATM) services, communication, navigation and surveillance (CNS) systems, meteorological services for air navigation and aeronautical information management (AIM), among others. It will be the second largest in Africa after a similar installation in South Africa.

Appearing before lawmakers in Parliament in Accra on Tuesday to answer questions related to his sector, the minister said the advent of the coronavirus had stalled the project.

“The ANS center started in January 2017 and was due to be completed by December 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which significantly affected the finances of the Civil Aviation Authority of Ghana, the project is at a standstill, ”he said.

“The authority is currently negotiating with our bankers to finance the rest of the project.

Hopefully, if negotiations go well as planned and finances are secure, we should be able to complete the project by Q1 or the middle of next year.

The construction of the ANS center is part of the government’s vision to make Ghana an aviation hub in West Africa and a destination of choice for travelers, the minister added.

To support the expected increases in traffic volume, Ghana has undertaken efforts to modernize its airports.

For example, Kotoka International Airport in Accra received a new terminal in early 2018. The terminal has a capacity of 1,250 passengers per hour and 3,500 bags per hour.

Kumasi, Ghana’s second largest city, is in the second phase of modernizing its international airport, including a runway extension to accommodate larger planes, as well as new arrival and departure halls.

At the same time, the minister also indicated that feasibility studies for a new airport in the center, west or between the two regions, which would complement the program to transform Ghana into Africa’s transport hub of the West, are in progress.

He added that the feasibility studies will determine the level of infrastructure and a suitable location.