The Minister for Aviation, Cecilia Dapaah has disclosed that government will construct an airstrip in the Bolgatanga municipality of the Upper East Region within its first term to create an enabling environment for business activities and tourism.

She said, as part of government’s efforts to open up the country to local businesses, the construction of an airstrip and subsequently, an airport was important.

She made the comments while on a tour of the region to inspect aviation projects.

She also paid a courtesy call on the Paramount Chief of Talensi who is also a member of the Council of State, Tongraan Kugbilsong Nalebegtang, and the Paramount Chief of Sherigu Naaba Alunmann Apasinaba II.

She inspected the proposed site for the Bolgatanga airstrip in Sherigu and also visited the abandoned Paga airstrip site in the Kassena Nankana West District.

Speaking to Citi News, Cecelia Dapaah said, an assessment was underway for the feasibility of the project.

“We need to do an airstrip in Bolgatanga to facilitate easy movement from around the country to Bolgatanga for business activities and tourist attractions. So we are assessing the proposed site in Sherigu, a suburb of Bolgatanga for the technical men from the Ministry of Aviation to come to do the assessment of the construction of the airstrip and subsequently an Airport.”

The Upper East Regional minister Rockson Bukari lauded government’s move, adding that, it will give a facelift to the region.

“The Upper East Region is a deprived region and so bringing an airport here will boost business activities and tourism in the since the region shared borders with Burkina Faso and Togo”

The Abandoned Bolgatanga Airport

The proposed construction of the Bolgatanga Regional Airport which started in 1995 in Anateem, a suburb of Bolgatanga has been abandoned after several attempts by previous governments to rehabilitate it yielded no positive result.

The proposed airport has a runway of 120 meters width and a length of 3.5 kilometers as been abandoned.

Former president John Mahama visited the site and promised to get it rehabilitated but that was not done.

The site has now become a grazing ground for cattle, with the cleared trees re-surfacing. The road leading to the proposed the site has also developed cracks with culverts broken.