Mills’ Action Year: Performance & Success

Mills’
Action Year: Performance & Success, Ministry Of Transport (Aviation sub-sector)


President Mills, on December 2, 2010 declared
2011 an ACTION YEAR saying it will be the year Ghanaians will witness the
execution and implementation of most of the promises his government has made to
Ghanaians. As a result, in spite of the general economic malaise that has
paralyzed Europe and the European Union leading to the collapse of some
governments and labour arrests in some countries, Ministers of State in Ghana
and their Deputies have worked hard around the clock to ensure that Ghana’s
economy stay on an even keel. The result is the fulfillment of many of the
promises the President made to Ghanaians on all fronts. Beginning today as 2011
draws to a close, the DAILY POST brings to its readers in particular and
Ghanaians in general the great strides the government has made on all fronts, a
proof that the year has really been an ACTION YEAR. We begin with a peep into
the Transport Ministry where Collins Dauda and Dzifa Attivor, Minister and
Deputy Minister respectively of Transport this year engineered and chalked
several successes.

INTRODUCTION: The aviation sub-sector has
undergone tremendous growth in recent times both at the international and at
the domestic level. This is a reflection of the stable political, social and
economic atmosphere and prudent policies of Government, especially the implementation
of the liberalized skies policy.

1. INCREASE IN NUMBER OF PASSENGERS

The number of
passengers continue to increase. For example, the number of international
passengers for January to August, 2010 compared to the same period in 2011 has
increased by 16.7%, that is, from about 900,000 to over 1,000,000.
Most significantly,
in the domestic front, the increase for the same period is about 29.6% rising
from just over 81,000 to about 106,000 passengers. This is as a result of the
introduction of two (2) new airlines namely: Aero Survey (Starbow) and Fly540
which has led to increased business in the aviation industry, increased revenue
generation, provided more options for domestic travelers, increasedcompetition
resulting in lower air
fares and creation of employment.

2. CONSTRUCTION OF THREE (3) ADDITIONAL
BOARDING GATES

With regard to
infrastructure development, three (3) additional Boarding Gates were
constructed at Kotoka International Airport (KIA) during the year to bring the
total to five (5). This has helped to reduce congestion at KIA with the
increasing number of passengers, especially during the peak periods.

3. REFURBISHMENT, UPGRADING AND EXPANSION OF
THE DOMESTIC TERMINAL FOR INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS

Work on the
refurbishment, upgrading and expansion of the Domestic Terminal for
international operations have started and is currently 80% complete. This will
help in improving the efficiency of handling the increasing number of
international flights/passengers.

4. INSTALLATION OF SELF-CHECK-IN EQUIPMENT
AND SOFTWARE

In order to reduce
passenger handling times and also be in tune with industry innovations and best
practice, self-check-in equipment and software have been installed at KIA to
facilitate passenger processing. The system provides a state-of-the-art
information display for passengers, showing arrival, departure and boarding
gate information.

5. CONSTRUCTION OF NEW PARKING APRONS

The construction of
new parking aprons and taxiway is underway. The new aprons will create eight
(8) additional parking spaces to accommodate wide body aircraft to meet the
increase in frequency of flights. The project has commenced and was 31%
complete as at October, 2011.

6. PROVISION OF ULTRA-MODERN FIRE STATION

An ultra-modern
Fire Station has been completed and handed over as at March, 2011. In addition,
the servicing and refurbishment of fire tenders are also being undertaken and
is about 95% complete. These projects are among the safety measures being
adopted to forestall any unforeseen emergency and improve response time within
and around the airport city.

7. COMPLETION OF WATER DEVELOPMENT AND
STORAGE SYSTEMS

To ensure
improvement in the water supply system, a water development and storage systems
project has been completed at KIA to provide continuous water supply to all
parts of the airport at all times. This will also go a long way to improve
basic hygiene conditions at the airport.
8. CONSTRUCTION OF A PERISHABLE CARGO CENTRE
The construction of a perishable cargo centre
is being undertaken under the Millennium Challenge Account to handle perishable
cargo for export by local farmers. This will ensure that the produce are fresh
when exported and also enable farmers to be paid the right value for their
goods.

9. NEW LANDING AID

A new landing aid,
Doppler VHF Omni-directional Radio Range, has been installed to help pilots to
navigate safely and efficiently to or from KIA under all weather conditions
without the need to depend on Air Traffic Controllers for information.

10. INSTALATION OF ADS-C/CPDLC COMMUNICATION
SYSTEM

Another navigational equipment, an ADS-C/CPDLC
Communication System has also been installed to improve communication between
pilots and controllers, especially, in the oceanic/remote regions where there
is no radar coverage for enhanced navigation services. These are all measures
being taken to ensure aviation safety and security as prescribed by
international standards.

11. IMPLEMENTATION OF IATA FLEXIBLE
ROUTING (IFLEX) ROUTES PROGRAMME

The year 2011 also
saw the implementation of IATA Flexible Routing (IFLEX) routes programme. This
programme was introduced to reduce flight times, fuel consumption and carbon
emissions to guide the Pilot in the most efficient route to use.

12. INSTALLATION OF WEATHER INFORMATION
EQUIPMENT

An Automatic
Weather Observation System and an Automatic Terminal Information equipment have
been installed to enhance communication with aircraft. This provides weather
information on continuous basis; i.e. every 30 minutes.

13. IMPROVEMENT OF TRAINING FACILITIES

In order to enhance
the human resource base of the industry, training facilities within the
Ghanaian aviation industry have been improved to meet international mandatory
aviation training standards.

14. AVIATION TRAINING IN GHANA

The GCAA is
currently in partnership with IATA to provide training in its Aviation Training
Academy. This has reduced the cost of providing aviation training which would
have been done abroad. The GCAA also rehabilitated its Electronic Training
School with the aim of providing training locally and also for the sub-region.

15. MORE REQUESTS FOR LINCENCES TO OPERATE
INTERNATIONAL & DOMESTIC FLIGHTS

Air Carrier
Licenses (ACL) were issued by GCAA to three (3) other Ghanaian airlines; Africa
World Airlines for scheduled passenger & cargo services, BF Jet Air Ghana
Ltd. for non-scheduled executive jet charter services and Century Aviation for
non-scheduled helicopters & fixed wing services.

A number of
airlines are undergoing their certification process and we expect them to
finish the process in 2012. These include: Eagle Atlantic, NHV Aviation Ltd.,
Pison Airways Ltd., Africa World Ltd.

As a response to
requests by international trading partners, during the year, two (2) new
international airlines were designated to fly to Ghana; Tap Air, from Portugal,
has commenced operations and Royal Jordanian Airlines is also expected to
commence operations before the end of the year.

16. REGAINING THE FAA CATEGORY ONE STATUS

In its quest to
regain the FAA Category One status, the GCAA is currently restructuring and
reviewing systems and procedures in this regard and a number of technical
corrective measures are being put in place. This will enable a Ghanaian carrier
to fly direct to the US.

The above will also
enhance Ghana’s airspace as a safe aviation hub and attract other airlines to
Ghana with the related benefits of employment generation among others.

17. CREATION OF JOBS

The Ministry is
also mindful of creating employment opportunities for our people and as a
result, the Ghana Airports Company Ltd. created 321 new jobs and the Ghana
Civil Aviation Authority also employed 37 new staff into various
departments of the Authority.

18. AWARDS

Due to the outstanding performance and
achievements of Ghana’s aviation sub-sector, KIA was awarded the coveted “Best
African Airport Marketing of the year 2011” at the Routes Africa Forum in
Bamako, Mali.

KIA was again
adjudged “Regional Winner” at the World’s Route Marketing awards in Berlin,
Germany in October, 2011.

KIA also won the
“Best Security and Safety conscious Airport in West Africa for the year 2011”
conferred by Security Watch Africa in Banjul, Gambia in October, 2011.
It is also no mean
achievement that the Managing Director of the Ghana Airports Company Ltd. won
the prestigious “CIMG Marketing Woman of the year 2011”.

In recognition of
the strides in the aviation sub-sector, Imani Ghana, in its second edition of
“Top 5 Most Inspirational Leaders in Ghana” named the Managing Director of the
Ghana Airports Company Ltd. and the Director-General of the Ghana Civil
Aviation Authority as the winners for 2011.

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