Arup's Accra-based airport city project is underway with a preliminary contractor

An airport city is in the making in the Ghanaian capital city of Accra, complete with a 214-room hotel and a number of serviced residential areas and a conference centre. Global engineering consultancy and professional services firm Arup has been providing consulting services for various aspects of the project, which has now broken ground.

Arup has been involved in the project since 2015, having initially partnered with Inter-Afrique Properties to conceptualise the entire project, and subsequently collaborated with Accor Hotels – which holds the prestigious Pullman luxury hospitality brand – to develop the project further.

Pullman will provide the hotel services for the new city, which is now underway after a contractor has been appointed for the initial stages of the development. For the next stages of construction, Arup is currently in talks with a prominent developer with an international reputation.

An HTI Consulting report from earlier this year revealed that Ghana is contributing the lion’s share to Africa’s leisure tourism revenues. The country is not only thriving in political stability and economic growth, but is also home to a beautiful coastline that has attracted a number of tourists.

The new airport city will look to tap into this potential, supporting the capital city with managing the large volume of visitors that are incoming on an annual basis. If the project goes to plan, the city is expected to come to completion by January 2021, and will become operational later that year.

Arup has deployed a multifaceted team towards the project, with the capacity to offer services in the mechanical, electrical, civil and structural engineering domains. “This is unusual in South Africa but is particularly advantageous in a foreign market as it gives the client a single point of contact,” said Richard Lawson, Associate Director at Arup.

Associate at Arup Adam Lancaster added, “We were also able to draw on a depth of expertise in designing hotels. Having worked with many hotel operators previously, we were able to bring a thorough understanding of their requirements.”