The Ghana Airport Company Limited (GACL) has begun expansion works on the Terminal 2 arrival hall at the Kotoka International Airport.
The expansion project, which began two weeks ago, will see an additional 5,148 m2 floor area added to the existing 6,031m2.
The project is expected to end in August 2016. Passengers will however have some relief from the congestion and long queues that are constant at the arrival and immigration halls at the airport by the end of December 2014.
The first part of the project, which is set to be completed by end of 2014, would involve construction of the expanded terminal area, expansion of the immigration area and installation extra immigration and customs desks. There would also be provision and installation of two new baggage handling equipment for the arrival hall. The existing three have already been replaced with new ones with x-ray scanners.
The second phase is the construction of two top floors which would serve as airline offices and offices for staff of the GACL. The $21.4 million project is being funded by internally generated funds of the Ghana airports company limited (GACL) and is being undertaken by contractors; Amandi Holdings Limited.
The design built concept is expected to be completed by August 2016 and international departures would be moved to the new terminal while major rehabilitation works are done on the existing terminal building.
In the meantime, efforts are being made to make the existing terminal operationally effective. From 15th February 2014, work was started on the refurbishment of the washroom in the international departure terminal in order to ensure passengers comfort. Work has also started to install new CCTV camera in the departure hall in order to improve security.
Most importantly, a contract has been awarded to ARG Africa for the replacement of the escalator in the departure terminal which has been broken for some months now and installation of a second elevator. An order has been made for the equipment. Delivery and installation of the equipment is expected to take six months.
Other improvements are also being made at the KIA. In preparation to accommodate the aircrafts as large as the Boeing 747-800, the taxiway is being expanded from 27meters wide to 60meters.
Also under the KIA Phase III rehabilitation project, which is ongoing, and expected to be completed in August 2016, another apron would be constructed to accommodate more wide bodied aircraft, aeronautical ground lighting would also be installed, while the fuel main at the airport would be extended to the cargo apron to allow cargo aircraft to refuel directly from their apron without having to load and go for refueling at the passenger apron as is done now.
Work has also begun on repair of the aircraft touchdown zone. This area has developed cracks and has rubber deposits from the aircraft tires, leading to a reduction in friction, which is not good for the landing aircraft.
Similar works are also planned for the regional airports especially Kumasi and Tamale, which aeronautical ground lights expected to be fitted at both airports in order to allow night flights to those destinations.
With these improvements, it is hoped that the KIA would be better equipped to live up to its reputation of being the aviation hub and gateway to Africa