Deep-pocketed investors who will undertake expansion of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport will also build an airport city and a special Economic Zone within the facility, Roads and Transport CS Davis Chirchir now says.
This is among the changes that the state has introduced in the new JKIA upgrade design.
Details seen by Star show that the government will only accept bidders with a minimum capital base of Sh100 billion for the proposed upgrade of JKIA.
Tender documents issued by the State Department for Aviation and Aerospace state that interested firms must demonstrate access to at least Sh100 billion in cash flow.
Further details show that expansion will unfold in two parallel phase as the government juggles using the existing airport while simultaneously constructing a new terminal.
The new changes follows the completion of a new master plan for the region’s largest aviation hub, with its construction expected to take three years.
In the updated masterplan, CS Chirchir said the project will also include upgraded airfield infrastructure.
According to the Transport Ministry, immediate-term works are set to begin on the current runway, where two rapid-exit taxiways will be built to ease congestion and improve aircraft turnaround times.
A partial parallel taxiway will also be added to enhance airfield circulation. Inside the airport, existing terminals will undergo reconfiguration and selective expansion to relieve passenger pressure.
“We have been working on this master plan for a year. With the documents now published, it is time to go. We want to give Kenya and the region the modern airport it deserves,” said Chirchir
The CS said the government is now formally inviting companies to bid for what he described as one of Kenya’s largest infrastructure undertakings in recent years.
The project is designed to relieve pressure on the country’s busiest aviation gateway and position it as a globally competitive logistics and investment hub.
Chirchir said project will also include multimodal transport links including commuter rail and Bus Rapid Transit connections, to ensure efficient access to the expanded airport facility.
However, he was non-committal whether the BRT and rail transport will be implemented in the current expansion phase.
“When you talk about a master plan that has a runway of this size, all the supporting facilities including the commuter rail system are built into it. When and how to deliver is one thing but yes, all the transport supporting infrastructure are included, ” said Chirchir.
JKIA currently handles about nine million passengers annually well above its designed capacity of 7.5 million.
Forecasts project this figure to rise to 22 million passengers by 2045, with air cargo volumes expected to more than double from 400,000 to 860,000 tonnes.
The master plan, completed in February, highlights acute bottlenecks like runway congestion, insufficient aircraft parking, terminal overcrowding and deteriorating landside access.
Without intervention, the report warns, these constraints will erode JKIA’s competitiveness as the region’s premier aviation hub and Kenya Airways’ hub.
The new terminal complex, to be built simultaneously, will accommodate 10 million passengers per year.
It will be supported by new taxiways, aprons, air traffic control upgrades, firefighting facilities, cargo and maintenance zones, fuel infrastructure and expanded landside access roads.
The CS said the government aims to complete the new airport infrastructure within three years, while the current facilities will undergo a 15-month optimisation to raise capacity to 12 million passengers necessary to keep pace with demand during construction.
