After a delay of more than three years, construction of a futuristic terminal at Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airort (JKIA) is finally to start in January.

Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) MD Lucy Mbugua says government has appointed the African Development Bank (AfDB) as lead financier of the megaproject, which has a price tag of $655-million.

“We have finalised the financing issues and agreed on AfDB as our partner. We picked the bank because it gave us favourable terms. We expect to sign the agreements by December so that we can start the work in January next year,” she says.

As the lead financier, AfDB will identify other financiers willing to form a consortium to fund one of Kenya’s biggest investments. Other financiers that have expressed interest in the deal include China Exim Bank, American consortium AAE and Standard Bank Group. The KAA is expected to raise 15% of the total cost through a public– private partnership.

Besides financing, the project has also been delayed by contraversies surrounding the procurement of a contractor before the KAA awarded the contract to Anhui Construction Engineering Group, of China.

The company will undertake the megaproject in a joint venture with another Chinese firm, China National Aero-Technology International Engineering Corporation (CATIC).

The 178 000 m2 terminal, which was designed by Pascall+Watson, of the UK, will facilitate efficient connectivity for transiting passengers.

The new terminal’s facilities will have 50 international check-in counters, 32 contact and eight remote gates, associated aprons with 45 aircraft stands and linking taxiways, besides others.

When completed, in 218, the new terminal will cement JKIA’s status as a connecting hub for the wider East and Central Africa regions and the rest of the continent.

The KAA is currently expanding JKIA, which is the hub of Kenya Airways, at a cost of $208-million.

According to the passenger forecast for Kenya Airways and partner airlines in the SkyTeam Alliance, JKIA will be handling 12.7-million passengers by 2020 and the number is expected to increase to 28.8-million by 2030.

Projections for other airlines indicate 4.3- million passengers by 2020 and 6.4-million passengers by 2030.

In total, it is expected that the number of passengers using JKIA will increase from the current 5.4-million to 35.3-million, while the cargo handled will increase from the current 227 165 t/y to 939 650 t/y.

JKIA currently faces stiff competition from airports like Ethiopia’s Bole owing to capacity constraints.