The reconstruction of the main terminal at Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), which was destroyed by a fire, will start in the next three months.

Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) MD Lucy Mbugua says the authority has secured funds to repair the international terminal building and is in the process of hiring a contractor to demolish the gutted building.

KAA has received $203.5-million from the World Bank for the restoration of the airport, which is a major regional connection hub. It has also received $22.6-million from APA Insurance, the company that had insured the facility.

“We plan to restore the terminal to world- class standards. The reconstruction, together with the ongoing expansion and modernisation, will [consolidate] the position of the airport as the gateway into Africa,” she says.

Last month, KAA put out a tender for a contractor to demolish the international passenger terminal building, which also encompasses facilities such as a baggage area and multistorey office block.

The facility was gutted in August last year, with investigations indicating the fire was started by an electrical fault. The massive inferno caused major flight disruptions at Kenya’s largest airport, which is also East Africa’s busiest air transport hub.

Kenya, East Africa’s biggest economy, was forced to quickly build a makeshift international terminal to avoid losing its status of a regional connecting hub.

The World Bank emergency funding will support efforts to restore operations and also improve disaster preparedness. Under the new funding, a new temporary international passenger arrivals terminal will be constructed and Terminal 4, which is under construction, will be expanded to include permanent facilities for an international arrivals lounge.

The funds will be channelled through the Kenya Transport Sector Support Project (KTSSP), which will increase the bank’s financing for the KTSSP to $503.5-million.

The East Africa nation is undertaking an elaborate expansion programme of the airport, which includes construction of new terminals, aprons, taxiways, parking areas and other facilities, with the aim of not only increasing its capacity but also transforming it into an African connecting hub.

JKIA was originally designed to handle 2.5-million passengers a year but is now handling over 5.4-million passengers and the traffic is expected to grow at a rate of 6% a year.

Projections show passenger numbers will increase to 35.3-million by 2020, while cargo volumes will increase from the current 227 165 t to 939 650 t a year.