Roads and Transport CS Kipchumba Murkomen has said there are no plans to upgrade the Ithookwe Airstrip to commercial status at the moment.
Speaking on Wednesday during the senate hearing, Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua asked the Ministry of Road's plan for bettering the county's airstrip.
"What is the current state of the Ithookwe Airstrip in Kitui County and are there any plans to upgrade it to commercial status?"Wambua asked.
Murkomen noted that several reworks were required which posed a challenge.
"The airstrip located about 2km from Kitui town has several reworks that consist of the pavement which is deteriorated, with potholes in sections of the runway," Murkomen said.
"There are also overgrown shrubs and bushes within the runway strip and some low spots on sections of the runway that are causing ponding whenever there is a downpour."
The CS said that some of the works intended for the strip include rehabilitation of the airstrip pavements by repairing potholes and asphalt concrete overlay, pavement markings and drainage works.
He also said that the Ithookwe, Kitui Airstrip is a code 2C aerodrome capable of handling aircraft with a passenger capacity of 37.
He added that for the airstrip to become commercial it will also need to be revamped per commercial standards.
"The indicative rehabilitation works include extending the runway from 930m to 1,200m to elevate it to code 3C, thus increasing its capacity to handle larger aircraft of up to 56 passengers from the current 37 passengers currently," Murkomen said.
"An expansion of the width of the runway from 18m to 30m to conform with runway code requirements ."
The CS said that currently the government does not intend to engage in the upgrade but he shall seek further funding from the parliament.
"Currently, the government has no plans in place to upgrade the facility to commercial status but shall be seeking the indulgence of the National Assembly in the allocation of funds for possible consideration of upgrading it," the CS said.
The county government had spent Sh133 million for Kitui’s Ithookwe airstrip by building a tarmac road for access to do away with the all-weather road.
