Indigenous Ghanaian airline Goldstar Air is set for strategic innovations to bring some companies to the Ho airport (HZO) to set up an Industrial Zone, which will boost Ghana’s economic growth in the Volta Region and the whole of the country.
Ho is the regional capital of the Volta Region of Ghana and was named after a town in southern Denmark by the Germans when the Volta region was a German colony.
Ho is one of the eighteen districts in the Volta Region. The population in Ho grew up to 180,420, according to the National Population Census. About 62 percent of the population resides in urban localities) and is the administrative and commercial capital of the Volta Region. It is also the administrative and economic hub of the Volta Region.
The districts are South Tongu, Keta, Anloga, Ketu South, Ketu North, Akatsi South, Akatsi North, North Tongu, South Tongu, Central Tongu, Ho, Kpando, Hohoe, Afadjato South, Ho West, Agortime-Ziope, North Dayi, and South Dayi. There are 2752 communities in the region, most of which are small settlements.
The Volta Region and the Volta Basin are a treasure trove of various important minerals and other natural resources, including gold, diamond, copper, lead, iron ore, and oil and gas. Volta Region is also famous for its festivals and ceremonies.
The Volta River Basin (VRB) is an important transboundary basin in West Africa that covers approximately 410,000 square kilometers across six countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, and Togo. Its natural resources sustain the livelihoods of its population and contribute to economic development.
According to the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Goldstar Air Eric Bannerman, the airline will soon initiate loyalty flights or non-scheduled flights from some international destinations to promote tourism and Hajj flights to and from Ho airport to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Goldstar Air has been licensed by the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) to operate, schedule, and non-scheduled flights to West Africa and Intercontinental.
Volta Region is the most easterly region of Ghana, bordering on Togo, the region is an area of extraordinary scenic beauty. The rolling hills and valleys, rocky outcrops overlooking Lake Volta, and lagoons, rivers, and waterfalls make for one of nature’s most attractive gifts to Ghana.
Its landscape of rolling hills and valleys with rocky outcrops, lagoons, rivers, and waterfalls is one of nature’s most attractive gifts to Ghana. Dominated by Lake Volta you can walk through rainforests, swim under waterfalls, and see a vast array of wildlife, including monkeys, sea turtles, crocodiles, and more.
These natural wonders present opportunities for water sports, eco-tourism, adventure tourism, leisure, and wellness retreats. The Volta Region can capitalize on these attractions and attract tourists to the region.
The main economic activity of the people in the region is agriculture which makes up 70% of all forms of employment. This consists of farming, fishing, and animal rearing. The major crops are cassava, maize, yam, shallots, and cocoa. The scale of farming is usually at the subsistence level.
Agriculture, hunting, forestry, and fishing are the main industries of the Volta Region. The Region cultivates industrial and food crops such as Cereals, Legumes, Vegetables, Oil trees, Roots and Tubers, Pulses, and plantation crops.
Volta River is one of the 60 river basins in Africa, and it supports the production of food, fiber, hydropower, and other products that are vital to West Africa’s economy and the livelihoods of 25 million people who depend on availability of the water that flows through the river basin system.
The airline operations from the Ho airport will pave the way for more companies operating within some priority sectors, such as Hotels, Restaurants, Cocoa Processing, Light Industrial Manufacturing, Warehousing, and Logistics Services to set up 24-hour operations.
Mr. Bannerman emphasized that the airline will bring some companies to set up an Industrial Zone for a growing and vibrant community in Volta Region and it will stimulate employment for the youth. These facilities will soon be in high demand because it will be a unique and strategic business location and 24/7/365 access to worldwide markets. The airline is looking forward to other people and companies joining this exciting new development during a time of exponential growth in the Volta Region.
An industrial zone can refer to; an industrial park, an area zoned for industrial development. An industrial region is a part of a country with high industrial development. Industrial zoning is the practice of designating an area for industrial development. Industrial zones are often established in areas with distinct advantages, such as nearby (or even on-site) rail access, high-capacity roadways, airports, deep-water ports, and consumer markets.
With economic globalization and the improvement of global air transport systems, airports are increasingly replacing seaports, railways, and highway hubs to become a new engine of economic and industrial development. Airports are no longer places where planes just take off and land. Various industries cluster at and around airports to take advantage of accessibility, speed, and mobility.
Supported by air cargo flow and business flow, these industries have formed a unique economic development model that is dominated by aviation-oriented industries and organically related to some other industries that support production and lifestyles. Airport Industrial zones are regarded as key drivers of industry location and urban economic growth and have been developed into airport-led urban areas to attract investment, boost trade, and create jobs.
The Volta region of Ghana has a long history of craftsmanship and metal works, with local gun manufacturing at Alavanyo, beautiful artistic impressions of woven kente patterns at Agotime are an integral part of the tradition in the Volta region. For centuries, skilled artisans in the area have been producing handmade guns, beads, precious beautiful kente Patterns and many more have been passed down through generations, using techniques and tools that have been refined over time.
Goldstar Air will incorporate these in the industrial zone to give them global presence by modernizing the production with polished finishing to boost its market value for international appeal. Apart from manufacturing the guns for security services, others can be made for gaming and sports, the airline will put the other products duty-free on board our flights to each destination from the Ho airport and organize trade exhibitions to promote made-in-Ghana goods in the Volta region.
The design of the Ho industrial zone will enable companies to operate in an investor-friendly environment with ready-to-use infrastructure and social facilities. The existing infrastructure provided at the airport includes roads, water supply, electricity, telecommunication, waste treatment, and other services, and it will also be suitable for traditional aviation services, commercial offices, industrial/logistics, retail, entertainment, and hospitality opportunities.
Typically, commercial zones involve businesses that interact with the public, like office buildings, shopping plazas, restaurants, hotels, and entertainment venues. By comparison, industrial zones usually have manufacturing centers, warehouses, loading centers, and similar structures that are shut off to the public.
Goldstar Air envisions these enhancements to regional airports contributing to a solid return on investment (ROI) and it is part of the over one hundred thousand direct jobs the airline is creating and will reopen all the airline’s regional offices, which include Wa (Near Upland Hotel), Ho (Bankoe), Sunyani (Area 1), Takoradi (Near Daavi Ama) and other cities to create more employment for Ghanaians.
Toronto’s Lester B. Pearson Airport is the center of an advanced industrial zone at the forefront of the reindustrialization of Canada. The Pearson Economic Zone (PEZ) is now Canada’s second-largest employment zone, employing 400,000 people and contributing $53 billion to Ontario’s economy.
The area is home to a significant concentration of firms chasing the business opportunities created to efficiently connect with customers and supply chains globally. In addition to seventy-seven Fortune 500 companies, the area is home to numerous iconic Canadian success stories, such as MDA, creators of CanadaArm3. One in ten companies in Ontario, from a wide range of industries, are now located within Pearson Economic Zone.
To initially put the Volta Region on the world map, Goldstar Air made a special to the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, as part of the sponsors for the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) World Tourism Day Celebration held in the Volta Region. The celebrations were held at Wli in the Hohoe District of the Volta Region, with dignitaries from the Ministry, the Ghana Tourism Authority, the Volta Regional Coordinating Council, and other stakeholders in the tourism sector.
Goldstar Air is a tourism-related organization that promotes the airline and tourism industry, therefore, the airline has entreated Africans and other nationals in the diaspora to leverage tourism as an inclusive growth to visit the Volta Region and other parts of Ghana.
The Volta region of Ghana has a long history of craftsmanship and metal works, with local gun manufacturing at Alavanyo, beautiful artistic impressions of woven kente patterns at Agotime are an integral part of the tradition in the Volta region. For centuries, skilled artisans in the area have been producing handmade guns, beads, precious beautiful kente Patterns, and many more that have been passed down through generations, using techniques and tools that have been refined over time.
Goldstar Air will incorporate these in the industrial zone to give them global presence by modernizing the production with polished finishing to boost its market value for international appeal. Apart from the guns for gaming and sports, the airline will put the other products duty-free on board our flights to each destination from the Ho airport and organize trade exhibitions to promote made-in-Ghana goods in the Volta region.
To make Ho airport useful for the region, the youth must be trained to get jobs to benefit Voltarians, because it is not only about opening the airport for passengers and aircraft but also for the local people and region to benefit from the 24/7 economy-axillary jobs around the airport.
The main reason for building the airport is for Voltarians to get jobs, and Goldstar Air is the obvious choice to make it happen. Goldstar Air, as an economic tool, knows what and how to let people in the region earn more money in aviation, tourism, and other sectors of the economy by enhancing financial performance.
Goldstar Air will initially operate flights from Kumasi Prempeh 1 International Airport to Rome, Madrid, Hamburg, London, Dusseldorf, and Milan.
Also, flights from Accra Kotoka International Airport shall include destinations such as Washington, Dubai, Lagos, Toronto, Monrovia, Conakry, Abidjan, Guangzhou, Dakar, Banjul, Rhode Island, London, and Freetown.
