The Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) has broken the jinx of the incessant seeking of lifeline from government and financial institutions, a development which has given the company an enviable leverage over its colleague state-owned corporate institutions.
BUSINESS GUIDE has learnt that the financial books of the company are now so tidy that they have attracted many an investor seeking a safe place to plant their monies.
The success story of the company has been attributed to the new direction the GACL has been charting since the new administration, under the Chairmanship of Tony Lithur and Charles Asare as Managing Director, took over the helm and nursed the vision to position Ghana as the aviation hub in the sub-region.
The strategy is based on three thematic approach: the improvement of infrastructure, promoting excellent service and building organizational reforms to make it customer-centric and commercial oriented.
The new initiatives, which have seen the enhancement of the look and efficiency of services at especially the Kotoka International Airport, are said to be the outcome of the mix of management performance and the commitment of the board of directors and management.
The managing director’s recent raising of $400 million seven-year loan from a consortium of banks led by ECOBANK to enhance and expand airport infrastructure and services, was accomplished without challenges because of the recent positive performance of the company under the current crop of board members and the managing director.
The entire staff and other stakeholders like the Immigration Service and Customs Service are now on board, and working together towards achieving the vision.
Mr Asare, the man with the magic wand, had his bachelor’s degree in Economics from Haverford College in the US, master’s degree in Business Administration from Tuck Business School, Dartmouth College, also in the US.
With over 17 years’ experience in financial and investment management across West Africa and the US, his performance in turning around a company which could have followed in the path of others is not surprising.
He has tapped into his varied experience, working with very competent professionals to propel the GACL to its present enviable status of one of the leading state-owned business entities.
Ghana’s airports namely, Kotoka International Airport (KIA) and the three domestic airports: Kumasi, Tamale, Sunyani as well as various airstrips, have been enhanced through the three-pronged strategy.
The long queues and congestions that once characterized operations at KIA, especially during peak seasons, are now a thing of the past: the expansion works on Terminal 2 arrival hall set to enhance operations even better.
The installation of modern CCTV cameras in every area of the airport is on-going. These IP-based real time cameras with video analytics will provide 24-hour surveillance for both airside and landside.
On the landside, the car parks have been redesigned to provide adequate parking for users of the airport.
The airside has also witnessed massive improvements with the reconstruction of taxiway and apron pavement.
On September 9, 2014, President John Dramani Mahama cut the sod for the first phase of the upgrade and expansion of the Tamale Airport to International status.
It includes the upgrade and extension of the runway from 2,438m to 3,400m, construction of a new apron and taxi link, rehabilitation of existing apron and the installation of aeronautical ground lighting systems.
The project was commissioned on 19th August, 2016 to coincide with the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.
For the first time in the history of Ghana, a Boeing 747-400 aircraft touched down at Tamale International Airport.
Kumasi Airport has witnessed massive improvement over the past three years.
By A.R. Gomda