KIA gets third passenger terminal

The Kotoka International Airport’s Terminal 3 is now ready for use. Its completion is as much a tribute to continuity after a change of political administration as it is the result of the vision of Ghana Airports Company itself.

Over the past four years, the Kotoka International Airport has been the beneficiary of several infrastructural expansion and upgrade projects. But the most ambitious and indeed most important one has been the construction of a third passenger terminal.

Its construction has been presented by the Ghana Airports Company Limited as its flagship project and this is for good reason. 

The third terminal adds invaluable capacity to KIA, positioning it to accommodate and handle the expected strong growth in passenger volumes for years to come with a view to enabling it serve as the preferred aviation hub in the West African sub region as a whole.

The new terminal is the biggest and most modern of the three at the airport and is therefore the most important. It has the capacity to handle 1,25O million passengers an hour, which adds up to some five million passengers a year.  It is equipped with six boarding bridges, a large commercial and retail area, three business lounges and purpose built transit facilities.

The idea of a new terminal was conceived as a compelling project in 2013 as alternative to the refurbishment of Terminal 2, which was then on the drawing board. At the time, the facilities in Terminal 2 constantly broke down, and congestion, especially at the arrival hall, had become a national security concern. However, all indications pointed to the disruption of traffic and cost overruns that would be attendant upon the refurbishment of what was clearly a dated product.
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