Ghanaian president calls for investment in aviation

The first aerospace show and Aviation exhibition with the aim to establish Ghana as the hub of aviation in Africa has ended in Accra.

The platform was organized to create opportunities for aircraft fleet modernisation, aviation investment opportunities, aircraft financing and networking to ensure the continued growth of the air transport business.

Over 100 exhibitors attended the event attracted over 3,000 participants.

The exhibitors include government departments, airport companies, airlines, flight school academies, ground handling services, military and defence, security agencies, cargo handling services, representatives of aircraft manufacturers.

Addressing the opening session of the airshow and exhibition, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo called on Ghanaians, both home and abroad, to take advantage of the prevailing friendly environment and invest in the rapidly growing aviation sector.

He said the government had successfully created the right conditions for the private sector to thrive in the aviation industry in order to propel growth and create employment, especially for the youth.

The President said he was enthused to learn that the Captain of the senior national team, the Black Stars, Asamoah Gyan, had acquired a licence to establish an airline called Baby Jet Airlines.

He said it was the vision of the government to establish Ghana both as an aviation hub within West Africa and the preferred destination of choice for travellers.

That vision, he said, could be achieved by the government by working with the private sector to offer modern, attractive air transport infrastructure by building capacity and establishing an institutional and policy framework to enhance safety and security of air services.

“It is in pursuit of this that the government has given policy approval for the establishment of a home-based carrier, with private sector participation, as part of efforts to fulfil our aviation-hub vision and also enhance connectivity,” he added.

President Akufo-Addo said since assuming office in January 2017, and following the government’s decision to remove the 17.5 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) on domestic air fares to make domestic travel affordable, domestic airfares had witnessed some reduction.

Also, he said, passenger throughput had increased significantly from 302,270 as of September 2016 to 373,429 as of September 2017, representing a 23.5 per cent increase.

Furthermore, he added, the government was committed to encouraging and supporting local airlines and entrepreneurs to set up strong private airlines that could fully utilise all the nation’s route rights.

“In line with this, the government, through the Ministry of Aviation, is reviewing initial bilateral air services agreements (BASA) with its contracting states. This has led to Africa World Airline (AWA), a domestic airline, now flying daily to Abuja and Lagos,” he said.