Ho Airport: Diamond in the Rough or White Elephant?

When the Ho Airport in the Volta Region was commissioned in 2017 at a cost of US$25 million, it was hailed as a bold initiative to open up the Volta Region and integrate it more effectively into Ghana’s economic and transport networks. The project aimed to reduce travel time, boost tourism, facilitate exports, and stimulate job creation. The Volta Region, long regarded as a place of untapped economic potential, was finally to receive the infrastructure that would unlock its promise.

Yet, eight years on, the picture is sobering. Passenger flights launched with excitement but were quickly suspended due to low patronage. The terminal building and runway are well constructed, but they remain underutilised. For many Ghanaians, Ho Airport has become shorthand for “white elephant”, an expensive investment producing little return.

This verdict is not entirely wrong. Too often in Ghana, large infrastructure projects are rolled out for political symbolism rather than grounded in sustainable feasibility studies. The suspicion has always lingered that Ho Airport was built to score electoral points rather than meet clear demand.

Yet the bigger mistake would be to stop the story here. The truth is that the Ho Airport is not doomed to failure. It is an underdeveloped gem. With vision, investment, and political will, it can be polished into a game-changer for the Volta Region, for Ghana, and even for the West African sub-region.

Why has Ho Airport struggled?
The reasons for the airport’s disappointing trajectory are not difficult to identify.

First, there has never been sufficient passenger demand. The road journey from Accra to Ho, while not perfect, is relatively convenient and significantly cheaper than flying. For most travellers, the marginal time saved by air travel is not enough to justify the cost of a ticket.

Second, the airport was not tied to a broader economic vision. The Volta Region has waterfalls, mountains, and Lake Volta, but no deliberate effort was made to connect these assets to the airport. Tourism packages rarely feature Ho as a gateway, and feeder roads to attractions remain in poor condition. Even if a visitor lands at the airport, getting to tourist sites can be frustrating.

Third, the airlines themselves face structural difficulties. Aviation fuel in Ghana is among the most expensive in West Africa, and the cedi’s depreciation compounds operating costs. Domestic airlines already struggle with thin margins in a small market. Launching a new route with weak passenger numbers was bound to be financially unsustainable.

Finally, the airport was designed primarily as a passenger terminal without serious consideration for complementary roles. There are no cargo facilities, no training centres, and no industrial linkages. In effect, Ho Airport was left standing as an isolated project, rather than as part of an ecosystem.

The role of regional airports in development

The debate about Ho Airport cannot be separated from the broader conversation in Ghana about whether every regional capital should have an airport. Advocates argue that regional airports are not luxuries but engines of development when they are well planned. They shorten travel times, connect isolated areas, and open up local economies. In Africa as a whole, the aviation sector supports over 8 million jobs and contributes more than US$75 billion to economic activity, representing about 2.6 percent of the continent’s GDP.

Examples from other African countries illustrate this clearly. In South Africa, regional airports such as Kimberley, George, and King Phalo (formerly East London) have contributed to provincial growth by generating tax revenue, sustaining jobs, and linking remote towns to major economic hubs. In Tanzania, Geita Airport was deliberately constructed to connect a gold-producing region, facilitating not only the movement of people but also trade, investment, and government services. These cases show that regional airports can transform local economies when they are embedded in broader strategies.

For Ghana, regional airports can play similar roles. They can facilitate the transportation of goods to domestic and international markets, support emergency medical evacuations and disaster responses, and serve as platforms for aviation training and maintenance services, thereby creating skilled employment.

Ho as a diversion airport
One of Ho Airport’s greatest untapped strengths is its strategic location. It sits within short flying distance of Accra (71 km), Lomé (50 km), Cotonou (about 120 km), and Lagos (166 km). In aviation terms, these are extremely short hops. This makes Ho an ideal diversion airport for aircraft intending to land at these busy international hubs during bad weather or emergencies. With minimal upgrades, Ho could become one of the most efficient diversion airports in West Africa, reducing risks for major carriers while bringing consistent traffic and revenue.

How to transform Ho Airport
Passenger traffic alone cannot justify the airport’s existence. The only way forward is to diversify its purpose. Ho Airport could be reimagined along several complementary lines.

Aviation education and training hub.

By partnering with Ho Technical University, the airport could host training programmes not only for pilots but also for airport managers, flight controllers, cabin crew, and aircraft engineers. This would create a comprehensive aviation academy for West Africa. Ethiopia’s Aviation Academy in Addis Ababa is an excellent precedent: it trains professionals from across Africa, reducing dependence on expensive overseas institutions.

Global forecasts consistently show that demand for pilots will remain high for at least the next two decades, driven by fleet expansion, retirements, and growing passenger numbers. In North America alone, consulting firm Oliver Wyman projects an ongoing shortage through at least 2032, while Boeing and CAE estimate the world will need more than 600,000 new commercial pilots over the next 20 years.

The aging workforce is a major factor, with tens of thousands set to retire in the U.S. alone. This trend underscores why countries like Ghana should invest now in aviation training facilities: the global shortfall is not a short-term problem but a structural one, and positioning Ho Airport as a training hub could capture part of this demand.

Ho could therefore position itself as the sub-region’s training ground, generating jobs and expertise while plugging into a worldwide industry desperate for skilled personnel.

Aircraft inspection and maintenance centre.

Every commercial airline requires light maintenance after 100 flight hours, heavy inspection every 18 months, and a major overhaul every 10 years. These services are expensive and usually done in Europe or the Middle East. Ho could develop into a regional maintenance centre, creating thousands of skilled jobs while saving African airlines millions.

Aircraft interior design and refurbishment hub.

Airlines spend heavily on refurbishing cabins, seating, and décor. Establishing a facility at Ho for interior design, refitting, and recycling would carve out a niche market in Africa. This industry is currently dominated by companies in Europe and North America.

Courier and parcel hub.
Instead of focusing narrowly on exporting vegetables and fruit, Ho could be positioned as West Africa’s dedicated courier airport. Major logistics companies such as FedEx, UPS, and DHL rely on centralised hubs in the US and Europe. Establishing Ho as their sub-regional hub would put Ghana at the centre of Africa’s fast-growing e-commerce and parcel delivery sector.

Emergency and humanitarian base.

With modest runway extensions, Ho could serve as a distress landing site for airlines across West Africa. Its location also makes it ideal for humanitarian operations - disaster relief, medical evacuations, and peacekeeping logistics.

Research and innovation cluster.

Finally, Ho could anchor an aviation and technology park linked to Ho Technical University. This would attract start-ups in drone technology, aerospace engineering, and logistics. Smaller airports in Europe, such as Eindhoven in the Netherlands, thrive because they host innovation hubs rather than relying solely on passengers.

Financing the Ho Airport vision
Ambitious transformation requires money. The question is how to finance it. While government ownership, joint ventures, or full privatisation are possible, the most promising option is a long-term lease arrangement with a reputable aircraft services company. Under this model, the Ghanaian government would retain ownership of the airport, but investment and operational responsibility would rest with the lessee.

Globally, the standard business model is a 99-year lease. Leading players in the field include Lufthansa Technik, GE Aviation, HAECO, and Alton Aviation. A company like this taking over Ho would be expected to transform it into a technology hub for aircraft services ranging from maintenance to cabin refurbishment. Because costs in Ghana would be lower than in Europe or North America, the catchment area would extend far beyond West Africa, potentially attracting business from high-cost developed countries.

Imagine Ghana, within 25 years, becoming a global hub for cutting-edge aircraft services. The cascading benefits would be enormous: the transfer of engineering skills, new industries, thousands of jobs, and a boost to Ghana’s technological development. Training could be done in partnership with Ho Technical University, which would prepare the next generation of aircraft engineers, technicians, and managers to sustain the hub.

Barriers to change
These possibilities are exciting, but the obstacles are just as real. Funding remains a major challenge. Even with private lease arrangements, the initial capital outlay is significant, and negotiations with global firms can be complex. Added to this is bureaucratic inertia, with overlapping responsibilities across ministries slowing decision-making and creating uncertainty.

Political inconsistency is another risk. Infrastructure projects in Ghana often rise and fall with electoral cycles, and a vision championed by one government may be neglected or abandoned by the next. What Ho Airport requires is a bipartisan compact that secures continuity beyond elections.

Finally, there is the reality of the market. Global firms will only commit if they see viable demand, which means the government must actively market Ho as a strategic opportunity while aligning policies to make Ghana competitive.

The choice before us
Ho Airport today is an underused facility, dismissed by many as a “white elephant.” But that label does not have to be permanent. With imagination, strategic partnerships, and bold investment, the airport can become a diversion hub for West Africa, a maintenance and refurbishment centre for global airlines, a courier hub for e-commerce, and a training ground for aviation professionals.

The obstacles of funding shortages, bureaucratic inertia, political inconsistency, and market uncertainties are serious but not insurmountable. With the right lease model and partnerships, Ghana can transform Ho Airport into a beacon of technological development and regional integration.

The choice is simple: we can let it gather dust as a monument to missed opportunities, or we can seize the moment and make Ho Airport shine as one of West Africa’s most strategic aviation assets.

Acknowledgement
This article draws on extensive discussions within the Kpasec Old Students Association 1979/81-year group (KOSA 79/81) WhatsApp platform. Several of the suggestions reflected here stem from those exchanges. I am especially grateful to Hotelier Emmanuel Akpawudza, Dr. Selete Avoke, and Professor Karl Alorbi for their insightful contributions.