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Kenya has already engaged an Indian firm-Adani Group-to redevelop the facility.
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This has, however, caused protests among Kenyans and aviation workers who even staged a major work boycott Tuesday that led to key services being disrupted.
Image: ENOS TECHE
Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir has strongly defended the government’s plan to source for a foreign investor to help in the upgrade of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
According to Chirchir, Kenya’s major impediment towards modernising the facility to enhance its efficiency and capacity is attributed to financial constraints.
The current facility which, he stated, has been in existence for over 30 years needs to be modernised to keep pace with the increasing number of flights and cargo and maintain its position in the region.
“The challenge that we have faced over time from early days in 2012 when we wanted to put up the Green Field Terminal has been with funding,” he said.
He acknowledged the current facility’s shortcomings citing the recent roof leaks during the El Nino period which he said was an embarrassment to the country.
“We do all agree that we need a new airport, we need a new investment, a facility that can boost our dimension and receive up to four million visitors like in other developing countries,” he stated.
Chirchir noted that Kenya being a major aviation hub in the region serving many countries, there was a need to ensure the airport is modernised to be able to remain competitive and attract more customers.
Kenya has already engaged an Indian firm-Adani Group-to redevelop the facility.
This has, however, caused protests among Kenyans and aviation workers who even staged a major work boycott Tuesday that led to key services being disrupted.
Public Private Partnership (PPP) Act, he stated, allows the government to enter into such agreements with private investors to undertake some key infrastructural projects.
Chirchir termed Adani’s proposal a Privately Initiated Proposal (PIP) noting that before they okay such deals, they negotiate on crucial parameters, especially on the return to equity to be allowed.
“We negotiate on the debt-equity ratio, ordinarily equity is expensive and because of this we do not want the equity ratio to be significantly high,” he said.
The initial design capacity of JKIA was to serve about 2.5 million passengers per year but over the years this has grown to over 6.5 million.
The aircraft movement (ATM) has also increased to reach over 72,700 aircraft per year.
It is predicted to reach over 195,000 aircraft per year by the year 2030.