Another airport for Accra

The Ghanaian government is considering the construction of a new international airport at Prampram in the rural Dangme West district of the greater Accra region, to ease the pressure on the city’s Kotoka International Airport (KIA). 

Ghana’s transport minister Alhaji Collins Dauda made the announcement in the aftermath of the 2 June accident in which ten people were killed when a cargo aircraft skidded off the runway at KIA and crashed into a mini-bus near Accra’s El-Wak stadium.

Dauda said that due to the increasing air traffic at KIA, which is situated in the centre of Accra, an alternative international airport in the city’s green belt was required.

The site in Dangme West has been identified and the government is currently attempting to purchase it although the costs of the project have not yet been revealed.

The minister said that much of the land in the environs of KIA, which was designated for the airport, had been built on by other bodies. He warned that all illegal structures would be demolished in the interests of increased airport safety.

The move comes after news that Brazil's national bank BNDES is to fund the upgrade and expansion of Tamale International Airport which serves the northern region of Ghana.