Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) is under strain as passenger numbers have increased five-fold over the past 40 years.
Kenya’s largest airport was built in 1978 to handle 2 million passengers a year and now hosts nearly 10 million travelers. As Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) chairman Caleb Kositany put it, conditions during peak hours have become “almost intolerable”.
“From 10am to 2am, you can see that the airport is crowded with vehicles outside, passengers inside and aircraft on the tarmac,” he told TRT Africa.
Kositany was there Turkiye recently paid a private visit and spoke passionately about the experience. The new Istanbul Airport embodies everything a modern civil aviation infrastructure should have. He described it as a “fantastic facility” with great integration of technology and hopes Kenya can follow the template as it seeks to improve Nairobi Airport.
As Kenya prepares to bid for the long-awaited expansion of JKIA, Turkiye has emerged as a front-runner for a partnership to build the infrastructure the East African country needs.
KAA’s interest in partnering with Turkish investors to overhaul Turkey’s creaky aviation infrastructure stems from Turkiye’s track record in airport development.
“We have a lot to learn,” Kositany said, noting that Turkiye’s advanced aviation technology provides a blueprint for Kenya’s expansion plans. “IGA Istanbul Airport currently accommodates 85 million passengers and is projected to accommodate 135 million passengers by 2032, which is a significant achievement.”
In contrast, JKIA needs a rapid exit taxiway to clear the runway more quickly and a second runway to accommodate the surging demand for flights to and from Nairobi.
“We are far beyond what the airport was built for,” Kositany says of the original design. “We currently accommodate more than 9 million passengers, but our capacity has stagnated at 2 million.”
related
Kositany confirmed that Turkish companies have already made inquiries about the airport project. “I can tell you that we have already received a lot of requests. It is no secret that Kenya needs to upgrade its airport infrastructure. We will explore possibilities with all potential partners,” he says.
Partnership discussions extend beyond the runway. Kositany revealed that negotiations are at an advanced stage with a Turkish company to set up a textile manufacturing unit in Kenya.
“We always go there to shop. The best suits, the best pants… In fact, all the clothing, a lot of the fabrics are made in Turkiye,” Kositany told TRT Africa. “We are looking to bring that manufacturing expertise to the Kenyan textile industry.”
Kenya is also exploring the possibility of collaborating with Turkiye on dairy technology and aviation fire safety training.
grounded project
Two previous attempts to upgrade JKIA, a greenfield project in 2012 and a recent proposal by India’s Adani Group, were unsuccessful.
KAA is currently preparing to issue an Expression of Interest to attract new international partners, remaining open to public-private partnerships and build-operate-transfer models.
