Plans to construct a second runway at Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) are hanging in the balance, following an announcement by government that it was reviewing the economic viability of the project.
Despite the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) floating a tender for the project, government appears to be having second thoughts about borrowing the required $351.8-million at a time when the country’s public debt has ballooned to alarming levels.
The African Development Bank, one of the key financiers of the project, has committed $160-million, and government has to approach other multilateral financial institutions to put up the balance.
“Government has decided to review the full economic value of this project before we proceed with it,” says Transport and Infrastructure Principal Secretary Paul Maringa.
About 50 international companies responded when the project, intended to transform JKIA into a world-class facility, was put out to tender in February.
The planned 4.8-km-long, 75-m-wide runway is meant to ease pressure on the exiting runway and to nearly double the movement of aircraft from 25 an hour currently to 45 an hour.
According to the proposed design, the new runway will conform to International Civil Aviation Organisation’s Category II specifications, which means operations will not have to be halted in bad weather, thus avoiding the diversion of aircraft to other airports.
The new facility is designed to handle the new-generation, extra-wide-bodied aircraft such as Airbus A380s and Boeing B747-800s, making JKIA an attractive airport for airlines willing to fly into East Africa.
JKIA was constructed in 1978 to serve about 2.5-million passengers a year, but the number of passengers it serves has shot up to 7.5-million a year, while the volume of cargo handled has also increased significantly.