Tamale, the Northern regional capital was officially guided into another life on Tuesday August 22 when Ghana’s VP, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia inaugurated the second phase development project at the Tamale International Air terminal (TIA) at a brief ceremony.
The air terminal which has now acquired international status after the development project, has officially been opened to international air travellers.
This follows effective tests and reenactment activities of the project by the Ghana Airport Company Limited (GACL).
The extension works, costing US$70 million, included the construction of a new terminal building and other ancillary facilities such as a VIP lounge, two boarding gates, four self-service check-in kiosks, eight check-in desks, airline offices, commercial retail areas, a multi-purpose terminal for Hajj travel facilitation and a five-kilometre road network.
The airport also has a 350-capacity car park, a technical area, which includes a reservoir for potable water and firefighting, a sewage treatment plant, among other facilities.
Inaugurating the facility, the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia indicated that the terminal was designed for a passenger of 400,000 annually, adding that with the opening of the new terminal, a number of airlines would now be flying directly from Tamale to various parts of the world.
He said the project was in accordance with government’s endeavors to expand the infrastructure in the aviation industry to support the organizations in the country and draw in foreign investors while making Ghana an avionics center point in the West African sub region.
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He added that the Tamale international Airport (TIA) would now act as a decent other option and supplement to the Kotoka international Airport (KIA) for international travel and an operational hub for air travel for the North and the Sahel to Europe and beyond.
“Agriculture is known as a major sector in the north, so this project would help boost agro-based agriculture, it is a major hub for air cargo for the exportation of agricultural produce to Europe and various parts of the world” he noted.
Beside that, Dr. Bawumia said the yearly Hajj Journey had also gotten a significant lift as the new terminal could now contain more airplane for international projects.
The new air terminal was a gateway to advancing international trade, tourism and culture.
Authorities of the air terminal has been asked to expand their frequencies to make services accessible to the traveling public at all time, and to consider stretching out their services to the district.
Meanwhile, Ghana government is committed to extend aviation infrastructure and services to all regions in the country. The aviation sector had witnessed a significant development in infrastructure development and service expansion coupled with the implementation of government liberalized sky policy for the past six years.
The Tamale International Airport was funded by a United Kingdom Export Finance (UKEF) facility, with support from KFW IPEC-Bank, and was expected to be completed in 30 months.
The scope of work included the construction of a modular airport terminal building of approximately 5,000 square metres, which is expandable in the future; a Hajj facility of approximately 1,000m2, a single carriageway access road, landside and airside infrastructure adapted to the terminal size and water, electricity and sewerage infrastructure deemed necessary for normal operations.
The new airport will have VVIP & VIP lounges, three boarding gates, four self-service check-in kiosks, 12 check-in desks, operational offices, airline offices, administrative offices, baby care, commercial and rental areas and an underground water tank.
