Tower endangers Aeroplane

The Dispatch says without the knowledge of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, a 180-foot steel tower has been erected at a site believed to be about 700 feet above sea level and within a very short flying time from the Kotoka International Airport.

Officials of the GCAA, the regulatory body that approves the erection of all radio, telecommunications and constructional towers, described the attitude of the owners in putting up the tower without obtaining a permit as callous.

The tower is said to have the potential of bringing about a major disaster. The Dispatch gathered these facts when it decided to investigate why a tower of that height had not been equipped with a warning light two weeks after its erection.

It was revealed that the tower, whose height will be increased soon to serve as a radio and television transmitter, belongs to Pearl Communications, a new audio-visual broadcasting company.

It is sited on the Atomic Hills where aircrafts regularly fly at very low altitude on the way to land at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).

Pearl Communications is said to be a joint venture between some Chinese investors and a Ghanaian counterpart.

Mr Frank Akrasi, the Site Supervisor for Lordican Limited, the engineering firm contracted to install the transmitter, told the paper that the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) was awaiting the completion of a generator house where a metre will be fixed to supply power and enable the installation of a warning light. He was optimistic that a warning light would be fixed within two weeks.