SA helps Ghana fly high with new terminal

Airports Company SA provides technical advisory services

GHANA Airports Company Limited (GACL) managing director John Attafuah is an animated man to whom words come freely, quickly and eloquently.

Even he has to pause and gasp for a few seconds, though, as he describes the impact the new Terminal 3 at Accra’s Kotoka International Airport has had on Ghanaians.

The stunning new terminal, built at a cost of $275 million (R3.8 billion), opened on September 15 and for proud Ghanaians life has not been the same since.

“Public reaction when they saw and felt their new airport for the first time was beyond my imagination,” Attafuah said with emotion, in an interview with South African journalists in Accra this week.

“People entered the airport and said ‘Wow, I can’t believe this.’ Some were lost – they just could not believe where they were. Some asked ‘Is this really Kotoka? It can’t be, I must have lost my way.’ There was such a sense of contentment in the feeling that Ghana has such a world-class airport,” said Attafuah.

Accra’s new terminal is undeniably impressive. Its sophisticated, futuristic look and modern trappings with plush business lounges, retail spaces and stateof-the-art equipment are the equal of any airport in the world, including JFK, Heathrow or Schiphol.

The GACL delivered the airport in close collaboration with the Airports Company South Africa (Acsa), with whom it entered in a five-year technical and airport management co-operation agreement that started on March 1 and is due to end on February 28.

And the new Kotoka Terminal 3 bears many of the hallmarks and best qualities of Acsa’s OR Tambo International Airport, Cape Town International Airport and King Shaka International Airport.

The collaboration between the GACL and Acsa is a symbol of African excellence and co-operation to deliver a product of global class.

Acsa provided technical advisory services during the construction of Terminal 3 by some of Turkey’s finest infrastructure experts. The Acsa team also provided operational readiness and airport transfer assessment for Terminal 3, a key requirement before an airport terminal is commissioned.

Other areas of co-operation between the GACL and Acsa were in aviation and commercial services, airport operations, aviation security and professional services, in line with Acsa’s strategic pillars to run and develop airports globally and to grow its increasing international footprint as a world airports company leader.

Attafuah, a former oil company executive tasked in March 2017 by the Ghanaian government with seeing this crucial project to fruition, was glowing in his praise for the “massive role” played by Acsa.

“We would not have had this level of airports company knowledge and expertise had we gone beyond the continent.

“It was easy for Acsa to advise us because they knew what we faced. They helped us identify the potential pitfalls and took our team through the development of the more than 140 standard operating procedures of every aspect of the new terminal.

“For every major simulation, the entire Acsa team was on the ground with us from 6am to 10pm. The level of support Acsa provided was invaluable,” said Attafuah.

While the fruits are visible, the project had its challenges, the depletion of the funding required being the most critical.

To complete the project the GACL took out a $400million loan, $275m of which was spent on Terminal 3 and the rest on a new project in Ghana’s Volta region and the upgrading of existing airports in Kumasi and Tamale.

A total of $195m came from commercial lenders such as Nedbank, the Qatari National Bank, Standard Chartered and Barclays, while a further $205m came from the African Development Bank, the Development Bank of Southern Africa and the Ghana Infrastructure Fund.

“We need to recoup this and for that to happen, the airport must be busy. We aim to make Ghana the major hub of the West African sub-region and we are working hard on attracting new airlines, developing new routes and encouraging airlines to improve their frequency.

“We believe in this project, which is why we embarked on it. It is up to us now to ensure our dream comes true.

“We delivered the terminal. We must now maintain it, market it, protect it and build on it to achieve higher heights. We have no doubt we will be able to achieve the objectives we’ve set,” said Attafuah.

At its height, Terminal 3 will be able to handle 5million passengers a year, with the capacity to handle 1250 passengers an hour. |

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