KIA generates over $17m from COVID-19 testing; gives $1m to Airport Company as royalties
- The Kotoka International Airport has revealed that it has accrued over $17m between September and December 2020 from COVID-19 testing
- Out of the $17 accrued, the Ghana Airport Company Limited was paid $1m
- This is as a result of contractual agreement to a sharing ratio of 10 to 140 dollars out of the $150 testing fee
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The Kotoka International Airport (KIA) has stated that it has accrued a total of $17,359,500 between September and December 2020 from COVID-19 testing.
In a report filed by Starrfmonline, the company at the fore front of the testing, Frontiers Health Services, paid an amount of $1,157,200 in royalties to the Ghana Airport Company Limited (GACL) out of the total money accrued.
The transport minister, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, made this revelation while answering questions from the deputy minority leader, James Kludze Avedzi on the floor of Parliament.
Source: Original
Contract agreement
According to Kweku Ofori Asiamiah in the same report carried by ghanaweb, the contract between the GACL and Frontiers Health Services stipulated a sharing ratio of 10 to 140 dollars out of the $150 testing fee respectively.
“... I want to inform this August House that from September to December 2020, the total amount realized from the Covid-19 testing at the Kotoka International Airport was $17,359,500,” he said.
He further explained that the amount given to the GACL is royalties and not for the space rented by Frontiers Health Services for the testing.
He added that rent charges, utility bills and other expenses are paid for separately by Frontiers Health Services.
The $150 fee for the testing has however been reduced to $50 for Ghanaians and other ECOWAS citizens.
Opening of Airports
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in his 16th COVID-19 address confirmed that the Kotoka International Airport would begin operation on Tuesday, September 1, 2020.
The Kotoka International Airport, on September 1, 2020, was opened to receive the first batch of international travels since the closure of the country's air borders in March 2020.
At the arrival terminal of KIA, some passengers who got there revealed that they did not undergo mandatory COVID-19 testing.
Reduction of cost
In an earlier report filed by YEN.com.gh, the government of Ghana resorted to reduce the cost involved in Covid-19 testing from $150 to $50.
The over hundred percent reduction follows pressure on the administration to reduce the cost as many travelers raised issues over the matter.
The ministry of health revealed that the decision, among other things, was based on a decision by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to charge a price less than $100 for the Covid-19 PCR test.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
