• The former Elgeyo Marakwet Senator explained that the government had to first sort out a stalemate between Kenya Airport Authority and a Chinese company.
• He noted that the airport dropping areas are determined by security plans within the airport, hence at times passengers may be subjected to long walks.
Image: DPCS
Plans to construct a new terminal to ease congestion at the JKIA are underway.
Cabinet Secretary for Transport Kipchumba Murkomen appearing before Senate on Wednesday announced that the state will advertise for the tender on January 15, 2023.
"The government is in the process of working on a new Public Private Partnership (PPP) model of the new terminal that will be advertised on January 15, 2024," he said.
The CS added that after six months, the state is optimistic that by June 2024, a contractor will already be on board and start construction works, so that in the next three years JKIA will have a new terminal.
The former Elgeyo Marakwet Senator explained that the government had to first sort out a stalemate between Kenya Airport Authority and a Chinese company.
Murkomen explained that the Chinese company had been awarded the tender to construct a new terminal back in 2015 but never came to pass.
"I report here today that we have resolved the issue and cleared all claims of 25 billion shillings. Now we are free to advertise for a new PPP for a contractor to build a terminal," he said.
Murkomen was responding to Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna on why passengers at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport had to walk for metres and get rained on after alighting from the plane.
The CS acknowledged that the international airport is constrained to accommodate all the airlines and parking thus the urgent plan to set up a new terminal.
Murkomen also noted that the airport dropping areas are determined by security plans within the airport, hence at times passengers may be subjected to long walks.
"I’ve just landed at the airport with the President and just like any other passenger, we were dropped far from the terminal and we had to walk through rain. Nothing just changes because of the rains but plans are already in place for new terminal," he said.
JKIA is Kenya’s main airport and one of the busiest airports in Africa.
It is also home to national flag carrier Kenya Airways and others including Jambojet, as well as Fly540 and African Express Airways.
Construction of the terminal building at JKIA started on March 14, 1978, and was completed on the other side of the airport's single runway and opened by the founding father of the nation, the late President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta.
Following his death on August 22, 1978, the airport, formerly known as Nairobi International Airport, was renamed Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
There are two main terminals at JKIA; Terminals One and Two.
Terminal 1 is arranged in a semi-circular orientation and is divided into four parts: 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D and 1E
Terminal 1A is used for International arrivals and Departures by Kenya Airways and Sky Partners
Terminals 1B and 1C are also used for international departures.
Terminal 1D is used for Domestic arrivals and departures while 1E is for International Arrivals.
Terminal 2 is used by low-cost carriers.
The original terminal, located on the north side of the runway, is used by the Kenya Air Force and is sometimes referred to as Old Embakasi Airport.
In January 2021, Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) began renovating JKIA terminals 1B and C to the new-look state of the art.
China Jiangxi International Economic and Technical Cooperation (CJIC), undertook the works at a cost of Sh963 million.
The JKIA upgrade project involved the refurbishment of the airport’s departure halls to improve check-in, screening procedures, retail operations, and traveller lounge experience.
Terminal 1B and IC's renovation aimed to enhance the traveller experience in the two terminals to match what is offered at Terminal 1A.
Further, the renovations were also meant to improve customer experience and position the airport as the preferred aviation hub in East Africa.
At the cost of Sh1.7 billion Terminal 2 at the JKIA was opened in April 2015 by Retired President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The state-of-the-art prefabricated terminal’s additional capacity brings JKIA’s capacity to 7.5 million passengers annually, compared to the estimated 6.5 million passengers who go through the airport.
It was initially intended to relieve overcrowding.
The terminal houses international & domestic check-in desks and boarding gates.
Also unveiled was the new security screening yard at the entrance of JKIA, a state-of-the-art facility fitted with modern security equipment that is one of its kind in Africa.
Current lounges at Terminal 2 include the Mara Lounge and Mount Kenya Lounge - both at the airside, Level 1 and open 24 hours.
Terminal 2 sits on 10,000 square meters. Fly 540, Sax, Jubba and African Air Express are some of the airlines that have already been operating from the new station.
JKIA also has five cargo facilities with a capacity to handle 200,000 tonnes of cargo annually and an animal holding facility that occupies 4,318.95ft.
The cargo facilities are Kenya Airfreight Handling Limited (KAHL), Transglobal Cargo Centre, Nairobi Cargo Centre, and Cargo Service Centre.