Revenues made from Covid-19 testing at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) by Frontier Health Services (FHS) has amounted to some $17million.
This is according to the Minister for Transport, Kwaku Ofori-Asiamah.
The realised amount, the Minister noted, was for the period between September and December 2020.
Making the disclosure on the floor of Parliament, the Transport Minister noted that per government’s contract with FHS, the health service company is to retain more than $16 million for its services, while the Ghana Airport Company Limited (GACL) receives $1.1 million in royalties.
“Per the agreement, the cost of testing a passenger was $150. Out of this amount, $140 was retained by Frontier Healthcare Services Limited as the service provider, while US$10 was paid to the Ghana Airports Company Limited as royalty,” stated the Minister.
Covid-19 testing by FHS at KIA, started on September 1, 2020 – the day the airport was reopened to inbound flight passengers.
According to the Minister, the testing was to curtail the importation of the coronavirus into the country through the Kotoka International Airport, the foremost entry point for air passengers from various countries.
He said the strategy was to test and isolate infected persons for treatment at various designated health facilities and isolation centres.
Mr Ofori-Asiamah further stated that during the period, some 117,187 persons came through the Kotoka International Airport.
He said out of this number 115,730 passengers paid for the testing regime, while 1,457 passengers, consisting of children between the ages of five and 12, were exempted from the payment of the testing fees.
Information from the Ghana Airport Company indicates that a total of 704 persons tested positive for the virus between September 1 and December 31, 2020, while 116,483 persons tested negative.
