A parcel of land has been made available within the Kotoka International Airport enclave for the construction of an aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility.
The land, secured in partnership with the Military (Air Force), will enable Ghana’s Aerojet Aviation Limited construct the MRO that will service the Ghanaian and the wider West Africa aviation market.
US Ambassador to Ghana, Stephanie S. Sullivan, who disclosed this during a grant signing event in Accra, was optimistic that the MRO will help Ghana achieve its vision of being the aviation hub of the sub-region.
The US$1.2milllion grant funding for the conduct of a feasibility study to support the development of a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility at the Kotoka International Airport, was provided by the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) to Ghana’s Aerojet Aviation Limited.
U.S-based aviation experts, Alton Aviation Consultancy, will undertake the feasibility study on behalf of the grantee.
West Africa does not have a certified MRO despite being one of the regions where air traffic growth, prior to the pandemic in 2020, was on the ascendancy. There are about 32 West-Africa based airlines servicing the region and tens of international flights servicing various airports in the sub-region daily.
Airline operators in the sub-region have to either fly to Ethiopia, Egypt or South Africa to have faults and regular maintenance carried out.
When the feasibility is successfully completed, Aerojet Aviation Limited is expected to use that to secure funding for the eventual construction of the MRO at Accra’s Kotoka International Airport.
The feasibility study is expected to be completed by December 2021. Construction and full operationalization of the MRO, all things being equal, is expected to be completed by 2024.
