Ghana plans new airport terminal with Turkish support

Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday cut sod for the official commencement of a new terminal at the country’s main airport, the Kotoka International Airport.

The new facility, to be known as Terminal Three, is expected to take pressure off the existing two terminals, improve the existing on-ground infrastructure in line with growing international travel demand, and position the country as an attractive aviation hub in the sub-region.

Prez JDMahama joins Prez Erdogan to commission 5million air pass'ger/yr capacity Terminal 3 Kotoka Int. Airport. pic.twitter.com/AvXXW2J1wx

— Ghana Presidency (@flagstaffghana) March 1, 2016

Erdogan also assured that his country will support Ghana fight the creeping wave of terrorism engulfing the sub-region and the continent.

President Erdogan, who in 2015 visited Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia, wants to extend Turkish presence in Africa.

He has since left Ghana for Nigeria for the third phase of his tour which will see him round it up in Guinea. Turkey has more than tripled the number of its embassies in Africa and the national carrier Turkish Airlines serves dozens of destinations on the continent.

Trade between Turkey and all African countries reached $ 23.4 billion in 2014, and those with sub-Saharan African countries have increased tenfold since 2000, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Turkey wants to increase its presence outside the traditional area of influence. Erdogan earlier this year visited Chile, Ecuador and Peru.