President John Dramani Mahama has announced plans to construct emergency airstrips in regions across Ghana that do not have existing airports, in a move aimed at improving emergency air transport and facilitating urgent medical evacuations.
The proposed infrastructure is expected to benefit the Western North Region, which the President identified as one of the areas to receive an airstrip under the initiative. The plan is intended to provide aircraft with designated landing facilities during emergencies, particularly in areas where access to air transport infrastructure is limited.
President Mahama announced the initiative during a courtesy call by chiefs from the Western North Region. He explained that the proposed airstrips would measure approximately two kilometres in length and would be equipped with small control offices to support aircraft operations.
“We are going to provide an airstrip in every region that does not already have an airport. Sometimes there are emergencies, and sometimes medical evacuations are necessary. At the moment, some regions do not have landing sites for aircraft,” the President said.
He explained that the initiative would prioritise regions without existing airports, while areas already served by airports would not require additional facilities under the plan.
“Regions that already have airports are covered, but those without airports will receive landing strips. They will be about two kilometres long and will have a small control office so that aircraft can land in the region in an emergency. Western North will be one of the beneficiaries,” he added.
The proposed airstrips could provide an alternative means of transporting patients who require urgent medical attention, particularly when rapid movement to specialised health facilities is necessary. They could also improve emergency response capacity in communities where geographical distance and limited transport infrastructure may complicate access to critical services.
For the Western North Region, the announcement signals a proposed expansion of emergency aviation infrastructure. However, details regarding the construction timeline, project financing, specific locations, and implementation arrangements were not provided in the announcement.
The initiative, if implemented, would extend basic aircraft landing facilities to regions currently without airports, with emergency medical evacuations identified as one of its principal objectives.
