Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi has said that Kenya should explore the Diaspora Infrastructure Bond to build an airport.
The CS said that if the country explores well the Diaspora Infrastructure Bond, there will be immense development.
He said that through the Bond, Kenya can fund road construction with the neighbouring countries, extend SGR, and improve medical care.
“If we package an infrastructure diaspora bond properly well backed. The infrastructure bond can raise not only the Sh300 billion required; initial figures now show us that if we do it well we can raise over Sh500 billion shillings through an infrastructure bond, which means the Diaspora can build that new airport. It is possible,” he said.
This comes at a time when the country seeks to expand the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport runways and aircraft parking so as to allow for efficient landing and take-off, which will in turn reduce congestion and safety issues.
Notably, parking bays are expected to expand from the current nine to 21 bays by 2040, with cargo throughput in the period projected to reach 741,000 tonnes.
JKIA, which controls 80 per cent of network passengers and 90 per cent of cargo businesses, has design capacities to process 35 aircraft per hour.
In early February this year, JKIA’s airport general manager, Selina Gor, hinted at plans to launch a special terminal catering for VIPs such as the chief executive officers of global corporations.
The Cabinet on June 12 approved the National Aviation Policy, which seeks to maximise the contribution of the aviation sector to Kenya's growth.
The objectives of the policy include global and regional consistency, legal/regulatory considerations, and stakeholder expectations.
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
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.
