Ghana’s Kotoka International Airport (KIA) has been ranked as the best in West Africa by the Airport Council International (ACI).
The rankings were done in the first quarter of 2019. It rated the fourth-best in Africa. This is an improvement from the previous year where KIA was ranked sixth.
This was revealed by President Nana Akufo-Addo at an ongoing annual general assembly of the Airport Council.
“Ghana’s aviation industry has seen considerable growth in recent years, made possible by the continuous creation of a stable political, social and economic climate. We have liberalised the regulatory framework within which the industry operates.”
“In addition to this, we have abolished the 17.5 percent VAT on domestic airfares which has led to almost a doubling of domestic passenger traffic,” he added.
He added that the international passenger numbers have grown by 6.7% as of September 2019 compared to 2018. Airfreight movement has also gone up by 5.9% with 38 airlines currently operating in Ghana. This added some $2.7 billion to Ghana’s GDP in 2017 alone.
According to the IATA air traffic globally has been growing at 5% annually and is estimated to grow at 5.6% per year over the next 20 years.
In Africa, the air traffic transport industry employed some 6.2 million people and contributed 55.8 billion dollars to Africa’s GDP in 2017.
The IATA has projected that Africa will experience an annual growth rate of 4.5% with a total market of 334 million passengers by 2037.
President Akufo-Addo wants Ghana to maximise its full potential and benefit from these projections.
To do this, the President said his government is developing the aviation industry to make it competitive in West Africa with the objective of making it a hub within the region and beyond.
“Completing ongoing aviation projects in all parts of the country reassure me that this vision will soon be realised. We have started the construction of new aprons at the northern end of the KIA, the construction of new passenger terminal buildings for the Kumasi and Tamae international airports - alternatives to KIA - and the rehabilitation of the Sunyani Airport.”
“Our airports will continue to undergo systematic facelifts through infrastructure rehabilitation. We also intend to continue to open up the country by constructing addition airports to serve as feeders for the KIA. The progress being made in the aviation sector, is ample evidence of our commitment to collaborate and cooperate with all industry stakeholders and to champion the cause of global and regional policies such as the ‘no country left behind initiative’, the single African air transport market and thereby enhance safety and security,” the president added.
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