Resurfacing works for KIA runway to commence in October – GACL

• The last time KIA’s runway was resurfaced was some 30 years ago

• The works when completed is projected to attract more flight operations into Ghana

Resurfacing works on Ghana’s Kotoka International Airport runway will commence in October this year, Managing Director of the Ghana Airport Company Limited (GACL), Yaw Kwakwa has revealed.

In an interaction with the B&FT monitored by GhanaWeb, Kwakwa said the resurfacing works which was earlier estimated to cost about US$40million, could further be reduced owing to the nature of the runway and flight operations.

“We are looking at resurfacing our runway, and I believe you have seen the Northern Apron; that one was planned using our internally generated funds, but with COVID-19 coming in 2020 it has become very difficult. However, we are looking to government for assistance; and we believe we will get it because it is critical,” the GACL managing director said.

He continued, “The business we are planning to get, we need to make a claim for that business; we need to build capacity, and resurfacing the runway is key to making that claim. We have realised that this is the best time to do the work, because we don’t have a lot of flights as we used to have in 2019.”

“It means when we do that now, we save some money. Even though it is going to be inconvenient, it is also going to save us some money because the contractor will have a lot of time to work, and the project can be done quickly and at a lower cost.” The last time KIA’s runway was resurfaced was some 30 years ago,” Yaw Kwakwa added.

The resurfacing works when completed is projected to attract more flight operations into Ghana.