Mahama petitioned to halt Sentuo Airport Garden City construction after sod cutting

Private citizen Samson Asaki Awingobit has petitioned President John Dramani Mahama to suspend further construction of the $1.3 billion Sentuo Airport Garden City Project in Accra until a comprehensive national security assessment is conducted.

In the petition dated Wednesday, September 23, 2026, Mr Awingobit raised concerns about the project’s location at 10 Giffard Road in the Airport Residential Area and its proximity to military, defence and aviation installations.

The development by Sentuo Group is expected to include about 582 premium apartments, a 600-room hotel, a 2,500-capacity conference facility, healthcare facilities, a shopping mall and other commercial and leisure amenities.

Mr Awingobit said his concerns were not directed at the investment itself or Chinese investment in Ghana but centred on the strategic location and scale of the proposed development.

“My concern is specifically about the strategic location of this particular development and the possible national-security implications of placing a very large, high-rise, mixed-use private development in close proximity to sensitive national-security, defence and aviation infrastructure,” he said.

He urged the government to establish whether the Ghana Armed Forces, Ministry of Defence, National Security, Ghana Police Service, Ghana Civil Aviation Authority and other relevant institutions had conducted a comprehensive assessment of the project’s potential security implications.

According to him, such an assessment should examine the height and design of the proposed structures, technological infrastructure, access arrangements and their possible impact on nearby strategic installations.

He also raised questions about the ownership and control of surveillance and security systems at the development, including CCTV cameras, security-control rooms and data networks.

Mr Awingobit called for appropriate oversight by Ghanaian security agencies and urged that personnel assigned to provide security at the complex be subjected to vetting.

He further called for an assessment of the project’s proximity to Kotoka International Airport and possible security scenarios that could arise from its location.

Among his demands is an immediate suspension of further construction until an independent multi-agency security assessment is conducted by the Ministry of Defence, Ghana Armed Forces, National Security, Ghana Police Service, Ghana Civil Aviation Authority and Ghana Airports Company Limited.

He also requested a strategic land-use review, counter-surveillance assessment, enhanced due diligence on beneficial ownership and sources of funds, as well as a review of proposed tenancy arrangements and mechanisms for vetting occupants.

Mr Awingobit stressed that the petition was not intended to oppose the Sentuo Group or Chinese investment in Ghana, but was focused on the project’s location and potential national security implications.

“This petition is not anti-China. It is not anti-investment. It is not an objection to foreign direct investment,” he said.

He argued that economic development should be pursued alongside measures to protect national security and urged President Mahama to order the proposed assessment before construction proceeds further.

Mr Awingobit said addressing potential security concerns after the completion of the development could prove more difficult and costly than dealing with them at the current stage.