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.
National Coordinator of the 24-Hour Economy Secretariat, Goosie Tanoh, who announced the plan, said the project forms part of a broader strategy to establish an integrated production and export system linking agriculture, manufacturing, energy and logistics in northern Ghana.
According to him, the Secretariat, in collaboration with the Ghana Airports Company Limited, has already demarcated about 150 acres of land at the Tamale International Airport for the development of the facility.
Mr Tanoh disclosed this on Friday, August 28, 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 KfW Development Bank and other partners, forms part of the implementation of the government’s 24-Hour Economy initiative.
Mr Tanoh said the air cargo hub would provide a dedicated logistics platform for transporting high-value agricultural commodities produced in northern Ghana directly to international markets.
He said the project 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 explained that the hub forms part of a wider economic transformation programme under the 24-Hour Economy initiative, which seeks to connect production centres with efficient transport, energy and export infrastructure.
Mr Tanoh said government is 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 and oilseeds, among others, would be undertaken.
He added that the corridor would support a proposed $270 million integrated poultry industry, further strengthening agricultural and agro-processing value chains in the area.
Government, he said, is 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.
Mr Tanoh stressed that the various projects are being developed as interconnected components of a single production system rather than isolated initiatives.
“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,” he said.
He said the overall objective is to integrate Ghana’s economy into one ecosystem capable of driving productivity, increasing production, creating jobs and promoting inclusive economic growth.
Mr Tanoh said the air cargo hub would therefore be critical to enabling agricultural producers in northern Ghana to access domestic and international markets, while government continues to work with the private sector and development partners to mobilise the investments and infrastructure needed to transform the region into a major production and export hub.
He added that the success of the 24-Hour Economy programme would depend on effectively connecting farmers, industries, logistics providers and export markets through an efficient value chain that creates opportunities for young people and local businesses.
