President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has expressed gratitude to Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and Asanteman for supporting the New Patriotic Party and his candidature in the 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections.
He expressed the gratitude on Friday when he paid a courtesy call on the Asantehene at his Palace at Manhyia, at the commencement of his 4-day working visit to the Ashanti Region.
“I am here to show my gratitude to you and Asanteman for your support in the last elections. You have supported the NPP since time immemorial, and in the last elections, but for your unshrinking support and that of Asanteman to me and the NPP, we would not have been in government,” the President said.
“I am here to show you and the entire kingdom my gratitude for that solid support that has seen us in power,” he added.
Ongoing projects
President Akufo-Addo indicated that he is was the region to familiarize himself with the numerous developmental projects going on, and to listen for himself the concerns of residents, traditional authority and opinion leaders.
The President also used the opportunity to assure the people of the Ashanti Region that he would not take their support for him and the NPP for granted, stressing that it was for this reason that several developmental projects had been done, with many still ongoing, in the region.
He also assured Otumfuo Osei Tutu II that even though there were delays with respect to the Boankra Inland Port project, plans are far advanced for the project to take off.
The Asantehene praised the President for his commitment to the development of the region and the country.
He also praised the President for his tour of the country, adding “if you stay in your office, your appointees will tell you what you want to hear. This tour will help you verify what you hear and know the truth.”
“I know you, and you do not disappoint. I trust you, and I know you will honour Asanteman,” the Asantehene said.
Kumasi Airport
Meanwhile, ongoing work on the construction of the Kumasi International Airport, which is currently 77 percent complete, is expected to be completed in June 2022.
President Akufo-Addo visited the site of the construction on Friday.
On June 6, 2018, the President cut sod for the commencement of work on Phase Two of the airport project, indicating that “the expansion of this airport is a critical part of government’s vision to expand the frontiers of the aviation industry in the country, and to realise the dream of making Ghana an aviation hub in West Africa.”
Inspecting work on the site, the President was told that the terminal building was 88 per cent complete; the road network 93 percent complete; the Apron 89 percent complete, with the air traffic control and rescue and firefighting services 53 percent complete.
Scope of work
The scope of work includes the extension of existing runway pavement from 1,981 metres to 2,320 metres; the construction of a new taxi link and apron, two new apron parking stands, aeronautical ground lighting systems; the design and building of a terminal with the capacity to handle eight hundred thousand passengers per annum, an 11 MW substation; as well the provision of new bulk utility (electricity, water, sewage treatment system, internet etc.) services, independent of the existing utility services for the existing airport facilities.
The third phase of the project involves the construction of the air traffic control building, a fire building station, as well as the expansion of the existing runway pavement. The construction of the
President Akufo-Addo expressed satisfaction with the progress of work undertaken so far, and charged the Ministry of Transport as well as the contractor to ensure that the October 2022 deadline for completion is met.
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