President John Dramani Mahama has announced that Muslim pilgrims in the three regions of the north will from 2016 board direct flights from the Tamale Airport to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj pilgrimage.
According to him, the rehabilitation and expansion works would be completed by the next pilgrimage.
The airport when completed will serve as an alternative to the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).
[contextly_sidebar id=”yNFDgBtYFRTihrfaKljQbgjbBflWasir”]The project is being undertaken by Queiroz Galvao, a Brazilian company, also working on the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange.
The completion of the airport will also reduce the cost and hardship travelers, especially pilgrims in the region go through.
Addressing the first batch of 450 Moslem Pilgrims, who left Accra Thursday night for Saudi Arabia, President Mahama said a direct flight from Tamale would be a relief to Muslim pilgrims in the three regions of the north.
He indicated, “this year, we had intended that we will fly pilgrims from the northern part of the country but the Tamale Airport expansion work is not completed. I am assuring you that, the 2016 Hajj will be a smooth one. You are not going to travel down south because by then the Tamale International Airport will be ready and you will fly you direct from there.”
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Kojo Agyeman/citifmonline.com/Ghana