On the 10th day of December 2012, President Mahama gave approval for the Kumasi International Airport Redevelopment Project. In 2013, the Government of Ghana embarked upon a phased development of the Kumasi Airport. The project was phased into 3. 

Reason for the Redevelopment of the Kumasi Airport

1. The thinking of the government was to provide the requisite infrastructure for safe domestic and international operations to ensure safety and comfort for passengers whilst ensuring Ghana had a fully functioning international airport along with Kotoka International Airport.

2. Further, the Kumasi International Airport master plan has been translated into an overall vision and a strategy for short to medium-term development. The Airport was to be developed to have a well-balanced mix of appropriate airside and landside facilities. The Kumasi International Airport was expected to serve as a catalyst for industrialization and rapid socio-economic development of Kumasi and the Middle Belt of the Country in general.

3. Still on the need for expansion, the development of the Kumasi Airport was expected to promote domestic air travel and provide the national spokes to open up the enormous potential growth of traffic in domestic and regional routes to and from the Airport in support of the Kotoka International Airport's pole position to be the gateway and the aviation hub in West Africa.

4. Finally, the redeveloped Kumasi International Airport was envisaged to boost eco-tourism and cultural tourism by facilitating domestic and international travel for the exploration of the national historic heritage sites and the development of eco-tourism and cultural tourism of Ashanti and the middle zone of the Country.

PHASE 1

The Phase 1 works to upgrade the Kumasi Airport to international standard was scheduled to be completed by the end of 2014. The first phase consisted of the rehabilitation of the defective runway and the installation of airfield lights and aeronautical ground lights on the runway to facilitate night operations at the airport. The commissioning of Phase 1 which happened in December 2014, was earmarked with a historic first-night landing by the then President of the country, Mr. Mahama. 

Phase I was fully completed in September 2015.

The Debate of Phase II vs the Facts

In October 2016, plans to start working on phase 2 which is to cost around €65 million were decided. The credit agreement was between the government and Banco Santander S. A. and its affiliates for €65,037,500 for the development of one section of the Kumasi International Airport. There was also a tied commercial loan agreement between the government and Banco Santander S. A. and its affiliates for €7,762,500 for the development of another section of the same airport.

The cost of the project included the construction of a new two-story ultra-modern terminal of 7,000 square meters of space based on 400- passengers per hour and an annual passenger traffic forecast of 1,500,000, parking areas, and a ring road around the airport. The building also includes spaces like VVIP and VIP lounges, restaurants, commercial areas, three boarding gates, a central screening system for passengers, an IATA standard baggage handling system, and offices for airline companies.

The Condition Precedents under the Contract

To achieve the full fruition of the contract, there were 5 condition precedents to be met; 

a.​ Signing of the Contract; 

b. ​Parliamentary Approval

c.​ Submission of the Performance Security by the Contractor to the Employer as per the provisions of Clause 4.2 of the Conditions of Contract

d.​ Completion of Value for Money Audit

e. ​Public Procurement Authority (PPA) Approval.

The Parliament of Ghana at its Fourteenth Sitting of the Third Meeting held on Monday, 31st October 2016, approved by resolution the Buyer Credit Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and Banco Santander S.A. and its Affiliates. 

On the 30th of November, 2016, the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) gave its green light for the processes to pass. 

After the PPA approval, the contract was signed on 1st December 2016.

4 days later and 2 days before the 2016 general elections, President Mahama along with a representative of the Asantehene, Asafohene Acheamfuo Kwame Akowuahcut the sod for work to begin on the second phase of the Kumasi Airport project by Contracta Engenhiria Ltd.

This means at the time of the so cutting by President Mahama, 2 of the condition precedent was yet to be realized. These are the Submission of the Performance Security by the Contractor to the Employer as per the provisions of Clause 4.2 of the Conditions of Contract (The amount of the Performance Security shall be equivalent to 10% of the Contract Price. The Performance security shall be provided in the form of a Performance Bond from a reputable Ghanaian Insurance Company) and the value for money audit.

This is why the phase II stalled for nearly 2 years before there was another sod cut in June 2018 by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. This was after the contractor provided the Performance Security on 15th December 2017, 375 days after the first sod cutting by President Mahama. The value-for-money audit was also concluded on October 2017. 

The fulfillment and completion of these 2 precedents under President Akufo-Addo in addition to the 3 done under President Mahama led to the realise of the contract sum on 26th April, 2018. This is why the loan facility is part of the 7 Appendix 3 of List of Loans Signed in 2017 in the Annual Debt Management Report of the Ministry of Finance.

These are the facts as contained in the parliamentary records and documents of the finance ministry. I hope these facts center the debates.

Eugene Osei-Tutu is a media practitioner currently working with the Multimedia Group Limited’s LUV FM – Kumasi as Producer for Talk-related Programmes

Email: eugeneoseitutu@gmail.com​