U.S.-funded study to help Ghana’s aviation

The U.S. Trade and Development Agency has awarded a $295,000 grant to the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority to support a study to help restore the country’s aviation sector to Category 1 status under the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration’s International Aviation Safety Assessments program.

   Category 1 status will permit Ghana to increase its ability to trade with the United States by allowing direct service by Ghanaian carriers. The USTDA said Ghana has experienced strong increases in air traffic over the past decade with international flights at Kotoka International Airport, the African country’s main airport, growing at double-digit rates since 2004.

   The USTDA-funded study will support the development of a new air traffic control center at Kotoka by recommending a location and the technical specifications for the new facility.

   GCAA will select the U.S. firm that will provide the USTDA-funded assistance, the agency said.

   The grant is part of the USTDA’s African Trade Lanes Partnership, an initiative that aims to advance the development of sub-Saharan Africa’s most important trade lanes and transportation networks to facilitate local, regional and global trade.

Source: American Shipper