NAIROBI, Kenya-Construction work has started on the new $653 million terminal at Jomo Kenyatta International airport (JKIA).
The goverenment is paying for the project with some help from the Chinese.
Anhui Civil Engineering Group (ACEG)/ China Aero- Technology Engineering International Engineering Corporation (CATIC) JV are the lead contractors of the project which is expected to be completed in either 2016 or 2017.
President Uhuru Kenyatta said at the launch recently, “Africa has historically missed out on development opportunities due to inadequate investments in transport infrastructure or reliance on pre-independence infrastructure. As Kenyans, we must now get it right.”
According to the Kenya Airports Authority, JKIA, has an installed capacity of 2.5 million passengers but presently handles an average of 6.5 million passengers every year. The new terminal will handle 20 million.
The urgency of the project has grown in recent months since a fire destroyed much of international terminal earlier this year. Secondly the present airport capacity can longer cope adequately with the passenger traffic.
KAA received $5.7 million from APA Insurance as part of the claim settlement following the August 7 fire. The payment follows a progressive loss adjustment exercise that is expected to quantify the actual loss.
Presently, Rwanda is building a brand new international airport while Tanzania and Kenya are adding larger terminal capacity.
