The $70million second phase of the redeveloped Tamale International Airport (TIA) was on Tuesday inaugurated by the Vice President, Alhaji Dr Mahamudu. Bawumia.
Undertaken by Messers Queiroz Galvao, a United Kingdom based construction firm with funding support from UK Export Finance and KFWIPEX-BanK of Germany, the scope of work in the second phase comprised an Expandable Modular Airport Terminal Building (MATB) designed for passenger capacity of 400,000 per annum, a VIP lounge, and two boarding gates.
It also include, two self-service check in kiosk, eight check-in desk, airline offices, commercial retail areas, a multi-purpose terminal to facilitate Hajj travels, a five-kilometre road network and other ancillary works.
Inaugurating the facility, the Vice President said the TIA was the third busiest airport in the country coming after the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) and Kumasi International Airport.
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He said the airport would now serve as a good alternative while complimenting the KIA in international travels as well as serve as a nerve-centre for air travel from the North and the Sahel to Europe and beyond.
Dr Bawumia added that the airport would also serve as a catalyst to rapid social economic development of the region, adding that the Northern Region had become one of the fastest growing regions in the country and the sub-region as a whole.
He explained that the construction of the phase two of the TIA would increase revenue generation for GACL and the aviation industry in Ghana and also accelerate the potential increase in domestic travelling.
"We stand a great opportunity to promote the export of numerous agricultural produce like yam, beans, groundnuts, tomatoes, pepper, cassava to any part of the world," he stated.
Dr Bawumia called on partners and stakeholders to explore ways of developing storage facilities/warehouses to handle storage of those agricultural produce to propel the growth of the airport.
He also appealed to the chiefs and the opinion leaders in the region to strengthen ties with the GACL to prevent the airport land from being encroached on.
On her part, the British High Commissioner to Ghana, Ms Harriet Thompson, said the British government was committed to seeing to the development of Ghana.
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She said the construction of the TIA was fully financed by the British Government and urged the management of the airport and the chiefs of the region to take very good care of it.
The Minister of Transport, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, said the inauguration of the airport would open up the north to other parts of the world and also pave way for job opportunities to the youth of the north.
The TIA serves as an important transportation hub for the region, connecting Tamale to domestic and international destinations.
In September 2014, commencement of work on the upgrade and expansion of Tamale Airport to international status was begun.
The development was in two phases with the first phase involving the upgrade and extension of the runway from 2438m to 3400m, construction of a new apron and taxi link, rehabilitation of existing apron and the installation of Aeronautical Ground Lighting System.
