President John Dramani Mahama has commissioned a state-of-the-art Air Navigation Services (ANS) building to enhance passenger and air travel safety at the Kotoka International Airport here in Accra.The President also launched the Multi-Agency Command Centre for Advance Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Records Systems (PNRS) as part of holistic measures to make Ghana the aviation hub in the West Africa sub region.The API and PNRS allow security agencies to identify potential threats before passenger arrival or departure, while streamlining immigration and customs procedures.The air navigation services building has facilities including communica­tion, surveillance, weather, aeronautic handling and traffic management systems amongst others.At the commissioning ceremony on Monday, President Mahama said the facility would provide workers in the aviation space a conducive environ­ment to execute their mandates."This ultra-modern facility will now serve as a net centre for Ghana's airspace management.

With this infra­structure, Ghana's aviation profession­als will operate in a conducive, techno­logically advanced environment, enhancing air safety, reducing delays, and improving coordination within the aircraft flight information region."President said the new facilities were in line with his administration's commitment to position Ghana as the aviation hub in the West Africa subregion."This facility underpins our broader national vision to position Ghana as the aviation hub of West Africa."For that to happen, we must not only build terminals and runways, but we must also invest meaningfully in the invisible backbone of air travel, and that is air navigation and safety oversight," he said.Started in 2015, President Mahama decried the delay in completion of the project, expressed satisfaction at the quality of work and pledged additional aviation facilities in the coming years to improve air travel.To ensure maximum benefit of the facilities to users, President Mahama directed the Ministers for the Interi­or, Transport, and Foreign Affairs to collaborate and fast-track the rollout of e-visa services in Ghana.President Mahama said it was im­portant the trio leveraged on the ANS, API, PNRS to implement the e-visa application services in the country."I'm directing the Ministers for Interior, Transport, and Foreign Affairs to collaborate to ensure that this platform is expanded to enable us to implement this long-awaited e-visa services for the country."I'm charging them to extend this system to cover both the sea and land border posts, integrate with our e-gate systems, and the adoption of capabilities to extend, to perform the advancement of the cargo informa­tion system and also for the benefit of our customs."These policy directives will ensure the country enjoys the full benefits of what we're witnessing today.

The e-visa system will ease visa application processes, reduce paperwork, bu­reaucracy, support tourism, and make Ghana an even more attractive travel destination for business.

The future of travel is digital, and Ghana must not be left behind," President Mahama stated. BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI