The Ministry of Transport of Ghana has plans to select a partner for Ghana’s new national airline by the end of March.

This announcement comes after PriceWaterHouseCoopers (PwC), which was selected as transaction advisors to the government on the establishment of the new national airline, settled on Qatar Airways as the best option. The company also named South African Delta and South African airlines among 5 other airlines as good options for the country.

InfraPPP understands that there will be a tender process to select the private partner and this would be launched by March. 

The national airline will be run on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis. Government has been keen on creating a new national carrier to tap into the growing aviation industry in Ghana. The country's aviation industry has been growing at an annual rate of 10% in the past decade. International passenger throughput for the 28 airlines flying to Accra hit one million last year.

Ghana International Airlines (GIA) was the national airline of the Republic of Ghana. The airline was set up in 2004 as a partnership between the government of Ghana and a group of private international investors. It was owned by the Ghanaian government (70%) and US consortium (GIA-USA) (30%), but the shareholders have been engaged in a protracted legal dispute since 2006. GIA ceased operations in May 2010 amid financial challenges and a shareholder dispute.

GIA's predecessor, Ghana Airways, was set up in 1958. It was the national airline of the Republic of Ghana with its main base of operation, and hub, at Kotoka International Airport in Accra. The airline ceased operations in 2004, but it was to be revived during 2010 as a partnership between the government of Ghana and Arik Air of Nigeria.