Asuma Banda calls for action on Wa airstrip

Alhaji Asuma Banda, Chairman of Antrak Airlines -- an indigenous domestic operator, has said Antrak is prepared to support the government in constructing the Wa airstrip to open up the area for economic activity.

“I am prepared to finance the rehabilitation of the Wa airstrip. The Wa people want the airstrip to be constructed,” Alhaji Banda told the B&FT.

There are currently five operational domestic airports in the country -- Kotoka International Airport’s Terminal One and the Kumasi, Sunyani , Takoradi and Tamale Airports.

However, the increase in domestic passenger traffic over the last two years -- particularly, the Accra-Kumasi and Accra-Tamale routes, has led to calls for rehabilitation of the Wa airstrip in the Upper West Region to serve the northern-most part of the country.

Passenger arrival and departure recorded on all domestic destinations rose from 199,000 in 2011 to 544,000 in 2012. In 2013, domestic passenger throughput hit 778,466.

Kumasi remains the largest domestic destination, with more arrivals and departures from Accra, followed closely by the Northern Region capital, Tamale. Passenger throughput to Tamale in 2013 stood at 162,000. All four operators currently operate multiple flights to Tamale.

A significant number of the travelling passengers to Tamale do so for onward connections by road to the Upper East and Western Regions and Burkina Faso.

The distance from the Tamale airport to Wa and Bolgatanga is 194 miles and 100miles respectively by road.

The Upper West Regional Minister, Mr. Bede Ziedeng, in an interview with the B&FT said: “It’s good news Alhaji Banda is interested in ensuring the airstrip is expanded and the best facilities provided to allow commercial passenger operations by domestic airlines. Government is willing to partner him. Why would government frustrate a private business man who wants to help?” he quizzed.

“If the airport is operational, we will patronise it. It will help the general public, and open up the area to investors and tourists. It will also ease the stress that Members of Parliament from Upper West Region go through in getting to the capital for emergency sessions of Parliament.

“It has been considered a very strategic facility. Currently, the air strip is narrow and doesn’t have all the facilities. The Ghana Airport Company Limited (GACL) has to put the facilities in place; they have promised doing so.”

The Upper West region has a population of about 577,000, representing about three percent of the national population. The regional capital, Wa, is home to some, 224,000 people -- most of whom work with non-governmental organisations operating in the region, and students of the Wa campus of the University of Development Studies (UDS).

The strategic importance of the region also lies in intra-trading activities between the country and its northern neighbour, Burkina Faso.

The land-locked country relies on Ghana and other West African countries for its maritime imports, which are carted by land through the Upper West and Upper East Regions to the Burkinabe capital, Ouagadougou.

By Dominick Andoh | B&FT Online | Ghana