Brief on Kenya Airports Authority Tender Issued on Tuesday 3rd March 2026 to Construct a New Airport at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and Upgrade the Existing Facilities

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) is Kenya’s primary international gateway and regional aviation hub, serving a wide range of passenger and cargo operations. Its strategic location and status as a hub for Kenya Airways (KQ) position it as a critical driver of national and regional connectivity. Currently, the airport is experiencing significant congestion during peak operating hours, particularly across the runway system, passenger terminal facilities, and apron areas. These constraints not only affect operational efficiency but also limit the Airport’s ability to accommodate the future growth. To sustain its hub role and respond to increasing demand, targeted infrastructure development and capacity enhancement measures are essential.

In response to these significant challenges, the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) initiated the preparation of an Integrated Master Plan and Feasibility Study for JKIA, which was concluded in February 2026. The study identified a phased development approach:

• Focusing on enhancing the existing terminal and runway infrastructure to address imminent and short-term demand; and

• Simultaneously expansion of JKIA to accommodate future and long-term traffic growth and capacity requirements.

An optimization study to define the necessary enhancements to the existing airport facilities was undertaken and as of 2025, JKIA handled approximately 8.93 million passengers annually, exceeding its designed capacity of about 7.5 million passengers per year. The Airport operates with a single runway and a terminal complex that has evolved incrementally over time, resulting in space and circulation constraints.

Comprehensive traffic forecasting was undertaken to assess the sustained long-term growth in passenger, aircraft, and cargo traffic. The forecast period spans from 2025 to 2045 and projects an increase from 8.93 million passengers in 2025 to approximately 22.31 million by 2045, reflecting an overall growth rate of 4.6%. Air cargo at JKIA is expected to grow from 407,214 tons in 2025 to 860,400 tons in 2045, more than doubling the volume over the forecast period.

Assessment of future demand against existing infrastructure identifies clear capacity shortfalls across airside, terminal, and landside systems, including:

• Limited runway capacity and lack of operational redundancy

• Insufficient aircraft stands and apron space

• Terminal congestion affecting service levels and passenger comfort

• Increasing landside road congestion impacting accessibility

Without intervention, these constraints negatively affect operational efficiency, safety margins, and JKIA’s competitiveness as a regional hub. To accommodate the projected growth, significant enhancements will be undertaken at JKIA through:

1. Upgrading of the existing runway, development of one partial parallel taxiway to enhance airfield circulation and construction of two rapid exit taxiways and runway end exit taxiway to reduce runway occupancy times to improve landing efficiency and increase overall runway throughput.

2. Reconfiguring, optimization, and selective expansion of existing passenger terminal facilities to address near-term capacity constraints and operational bottlenecks.

3. Digitalize and modernize passenger processing systems, including check-in, security screening, Immigration, and baggage handling, to improve processing efficiency and service levels.

4. Optimize existing vehicle parking facilities to improve capacity, circulation, and passenger access.

The scope and scale of the interventions as earlier indicated were defined through the capacity optimization study.

To meet the long-term demand and address the current capacity challenges, KAA through the project will concurrently:

1. Develop a new passenger terminal, able to accommodate an additional 10 million passengers per year, with provision for future expansion.

2. Upgrade taxiway system and development of new taxiways, aprons, and aircraft support facilities

3. Develop essential support infrastructure, including upgrade to air traffic control, firefighting stations, cargo, maintenance, fuel, and utility facilities.

4. Upgrade land-side access roads to improve connectivity and reduce congestion.

5. Develop Parking facilities to serve the new Passenger Terminal building.

Collectively, the new terminal, support facilities, and access road developments provide a robust and flexible framework to meet JKIA’s long-term operational, capacity, and service quality requirements, while positioning the Airport to sustainably accommodate future growth in passenger and aircraft traffic.

KAA intends to develop an Airport City and a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) to position Jomo Kenyatta International Airport as a fully integrated aviation-led economic hub of national and regional significance. The Airport City and SEZ will maximize the economic value of the airport beyond aeronautical operations by attracting logistics, trade, manufacturing, business, and service-oriented activities that benefit from direct proximity to air transport.

The SEZ is designed to support high-value, time-sensitive and export-oriented industries including air cargo logistics, agro-processing, pharmaceuticals, light manufacturing, e-commerce fulfillment, and regional distribution. This initiative leverages JKIA’s role as Kenya’s primary international cargo gateway, enhancing competitiveness through improved logistics efficiency and investment incentives.

The Airport City complements the SEZ by accommodating commercial developments including business parks, corporate offices, hotels, convention and exhibition facilities, aviation support services, educational and mixed-use developments, creating a planned and sustainable urban economic zone anchored around the airport. Together, these developments are expected to generate significant employment, attract foreign and domestic investment, diversify airport and national revenues, whilst also providing benefits to the surrounding communities, strengthen Kenya’s position as an East African trade and aviation hub, and support the objectives of Kenya Vision 2030.

The planned enhancement and expansion of JKIA is a strategic national initiative aimed at meeting Kenya’s future aviation needs, enhancing service quality, and safeguarding the airport’s role as a leading regional gateway. The Government through the Ministry of Transport and Kenya Airports Authority is committed to transparent implementation of the project and will continue to keep stakeholders and the public informed as the project progresses.

Davis Chirchir, EGH

Cabinet Secretary, Roads & Transport