President John Dramani Mahama says the time has come for the Upper East Region to have its own airport, arguing that the facility would ease travel, boost economic activity and draw investment to the area.
He said the airport would end the need for residents to travel about 160 kilometers to Tamale to catch domestic flights to Accra, while also giving a significant lift to local businesses and the mining industry.
The President made the comments while inspecting the proposed airport site in Bolgatanga as part of his Resetting Ghana tour of the Upper East Region.
Mahama said the project would go beyond just an airport, with plans to support the development of a surrounding city to maximize its economic value. He described it as part of a broader push to open the country up to air travel and make it easier for people to move quickly between the region and Accra.
"We want to open up the country to air travel because there are some people who want to go very quickly to Accra, transact their business and come back quickly," he said.
He argued that long road journeys to Accra, or drives to Tamale simply to catch a flight, had become a real constraint on business and investment in the region. "Nobody wants to drive 11 hours to come to his factory in Upper East and drive 11 hours back to Accra," he said.
The President added that the airport would also benefit gold mining companies operating in the region by offering a faster and more secure way to transport gold bullion to Accra. He called the project a potential game changer and urged residents to make use of it once completed, so passenger numbers could grow quickly.
Mahama said the sod cutting for the project would take place before the end of the year, with construction expected to take 24 months, although contractors have indicated they may finish sooner.
Giving further details, the Board Chairman of the Ghana Airports Company Limited, James Agalga, said the airport would have a 2.2 kilometre runway able to receive both jet and propeller aircraft currently flying domestic routes. The facility would include an apron capable of holding two aircraft at once, a link taxiway and airfield lighting for night operations, with the terminal building integrated with an air traffic control tower and a Rescue and Fire Fighting Services facility also planned.
Agalga said the contract includes about five kilometers of asphalted access road, and that the airport is initially expected to handle around 100,000 passengers a year, with the terminal designed to allow for future expansion. The project is currently at the public procurement stage, with approvals expected by October ahead of the sod cutting ceremony.
President Mahama also inspected work on the Chuchuliga-Sandema road, part of the wider Chuchuliga-Tumu-Wa corridor linking the Upper East and Upper West regions. The project, with an original contract sum of GH¢469,711,150.35, covers 24.23 kilometers plus an additional 10.18 kilometres and is being executed by Myturn Limited. Work began on January 7, 2026 and is scheduled for completion by January 6, 2028; physical progress currently stands at 28 per cent, just slightly behind the planned 29 per cent.
Mahama said the road was a key link between the two regions and forms part of government's Big Push program, which allocates annual funding to priority roads. He recalled that the project was first sodcut in 2016 but stalled after his administration left office at the time.
The Minister of Roads and Highways, Kwame Governs Agbodza, said payment delays had previously slowed progress on the road but that government had, as of last month, paid a total of GH¢23.1 billion, covering Big Push contractor payments and settlement of arrears. He said most of that amount went toward clearing debts owed to contractors, and that the payments were already beginning to show in increased activity on project sites nationwide.
