Expansion and Rehabilitation of Nairobi International Airport

With a traffic of more than 5 million passengers in 2008 for a capacity of 2.5 million, Nairobi International Airport JKIA no longer meets the air transport needs of Kenyans and the economy of the country (economic hub, tourism, horticulture, etc.). JKIA also plays a key role for the other countries of the sub-region (transit constituting 70% of its activity). The airport serves more than 35 scheduled airlines. The master plan, revised in 2011, proposed to increase JKIA's capacity to 9.5 million passengers, based on traffic forecasts.

The purpose of the project is to upgrade the airport infrastructure at Nairobi International Airport in order to develop national and regional economies. The project plans to: increase the airport’s currently saturated capacity of the terminal facilities so as to offer better quality of service; ensure convenient connections between airport terminals to facilitate its role as a regional hub. The upgrade of JKIA concerns: aircraft parking areas; creation of a fourth terminal and parking; rehabilitation and expansion of the three existing departure terminals and the arrival terminal; rehabilitation of the runway, the aircraft parking and upgrading the lighting system; rehabilitation of domestic terminals; the Greenfield Terminal and construction of a new runway.

The project enabled the construction of the new terminal 1 and its commissioning, just as JKIA was undergoing a major fire outbreak, preventing the use of many of the old terminals. This new terminal and the associated equipment have enabled JKIA to offer quality service under improved security conditions. However, the decline in traffic following the many attacks on Kenya has not allowed KAA to take full advantage of this investment. However, thanks to this project, JKIA has strengthened its role as a regional hub.