According to eTravelNews, the second runway project at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) has been given the green light to proceed with due haste.
Under the previous government, the runway was repeatedly delayed, but the new Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Transport, Michael Kamau, was swift in clearing the mess left behind by his predecessor, and got the project back on track.
The cost of completely the new runway will run to about $650 million at current prices, and completion, once ground is finally broken, will take at least three-and-a-half years.
Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport was built to accommodate two million passengers. Today it services nearly seven million passengers annually. Capacity constraints have cost Kenya dearly as more airlines wish to fly to Nairobi but find themselves restricted by the lack of suitable slot times, parking for aircraft, air bridges, office space and overcrowded departure and arrival terminals.
The new runway will be joined by a new terminal building to help process the increased visitor numbers.