Government is set to develop an approximately 150-acre air cargo hub at the Tamale International Airport, to facilitate the export of vegetables, fruits and other high-value agricultural produce from northern Ghana to international markets.
Mr Goosie Tanoh, the National Coordinator for the 24-Hour Economy Secretariat, who announced this, said the initiative formed part of the government’s broader strategy to establish an integrated production and export system that would connect agriculture, manufacturing, energy and logistics in northern Ghana.
He said the Secretariat, in collaboration with the Ghana Airports Company Limited, had already demarcated about 150 acres of land at the Tamale International Airport for the development of the air cargo hub.
Mr Tanoh was speaking at the inauguration of Northshore Apparel Ghana Limited, an export garment factory at Savelugu in the Northern Region.
The company, funded through a partnership involving the Ghana Export-Import Bank, Germany’s Investing for Employment through the KfW Development Bank among others, formed part of the implementation of the government’s 24hour economy initiative.
Mr Tanoh said the air cargo facility would provide a dedicated logistics platform for moving high-value agricultural commodities produced in northern Ghana directly to international markets.
He said the development would complement government’s efforts to promote commercial-scale agriculture and value addition while improving access to export markets for farmers and agribusinesses in the northern part of the country.
He said the air cargo hub was part of a wider economic transformation programme under the 24-hour economy initiative, which sought to integrate production centres with efficient transport, energy and export infrastructure.
Mr Tanoh said the government was also pursuing the development of an agriculture corridor covering about 120,000 hectares at Senga and Daboya along the White Volta where commercial-scale production of vegetables, cereals, oilseeds among others would be undertaken.
He said the corridor would also support a proposed 270-million-dollar integrated poultry industry further strengthening the agricultural and agro-processing value chains in the area.
Mr Tanoh said the government was also working to provide affordable and reliable energy to support industries in the region, including plans for a 1.5-gigawatt solar power plant under the Volta Economic Corridor.
He said the various initiatives were being pursued as interconnected components of a single production system rather than isolated projects.
He said “Farms at Senga, factories at Savelugu and Daboya, export logistics in Tamale and energy at Wipei are not separate initiatives. They are part of a single production system.”
Mr Tanoh said the objective was to integrate and unify Ghana’s economy into one ecosystem that would drive productivity, increase production, create jobs and promote inclusive economic growth.
He said the development of the air cargo hub would therefore be critical to ensuring that agricultural producers in northern Ghana could take advantage of both domestic and international markets, while government continued to work with the private sector and development partners to mobilise the investments and infrastructure required to transform northern Ghana into a major production and export hub.
Mr Tanoh stated that the success of the 24-hour economy programme would depend on the ability to connect farmers, industries, logistics providers and export markets in an efficient value chain that created opportunities for young people and local businesses.
Mr Frederik Landshof, the German Ambassador to Ghana, commended Ghana for its industrial revolution and pledged Germany’s continued commitment to supporting Ghana in driving sustainable development.
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