The runway of the Ho Airport, a new regional airport in the Volta Region, is expected to be completed for the inaugural flight in November, Transport Minister Fifi Kwetey has said.

“The first part of the Ho Airport we are doing, is the runway. We expect the runway to be ready by November in order for us to make the first inaugural flight.

Subsequent to that, the terminal will have to be finished. But the terminal won’t be ready before November. But we expect the runway to be ready by then,” the Transport Minister said.

The new regional airport, which forms part of government’s plans to construct an airport in every region, was initially scheduled to be completed by first quarter 2017.

The Ho Airport is being constructed with part of a US$150million loan sourced by the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) on the strength of its own balance sheet. Part of the loan is also being expended on the rehabilitation of the Sunyani and Wa Airports.

Charles Asare, Managing Director of the GACL notes that: “We have enough land to develop ancillary services at the Ho Airport. We have registered Airport City for all the regions -- we have Airport City Ho, Airport City Kumasi, Airport City Sunyani and Airport City Tamale. It is a registered trade mark for the GACL. That tells you the future plans we have to roll-out the successful concepts that we develop in Accra.”

Though some experts have questioned the economic viability of the project, Transport Minister Fifi Kwetey said the project in Ho is part of efforts to open up the region for economic development.

The Volta Region is the 7th most populous region in the country. Farming, fishing and tourism remain the main economic activities prevalent in the region.

Despite these endowments, there has been very limited trading activities between the region and major capitals such as Takoradi, Accra, Kumasi and Tamale among others.