The long-awaited expansion works at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) are set to commence in June 2026, announced Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir on Tuesday.
In a meeting with media representatives and consultants at a stakeholders’ meeting, CS Chirchir announced that preparations for the expansion works are in full gear, with the international tendering process having taken off last week.
“We plan to commence works by June this year. The government will support businesses operating at JKIA as we commence works on the expansion project,” said Chirchir in a meeting with businesses around JKIA.
The expansion works at JKIA are part of a master plan set for a 20-year period up to 2045. Though Chirchir did not reveal how much money is set aside for the works, he revealed that the tendering process for the works is still ongoing.
“We have a handle on how much it will cost us in terms of materials such as steel for construction works, but we still have a long way to go in terms of tendering for the works.”
The project is marked by two major phases, which are to be executed in quick succession. Phase 1 of the project is to improve existing facilities to increase passenger traffic to 12 million per year in 18 months.
Phase 2 of the project is to increase passenger traffic significantly by adding a new 4,500-meter parallel runway and a 230,000 square-meter passenger terminal that will be able to accommodate 10 million passengers per year. The terminal will be of modern X-shape design to improve passenger flow and increase service delivery.
According to officials, these two phases of the project will be implemented in parallel to quicken the pace of construction while keeping the airport open for use by passengers and airlines.
The planned launch of the project in June 2026 comes at a time when President William Ruto declared that JKIA will be the very first project to be funded by the National Infrastructure Fund (NIF) just a day after making the announcement.
The government plans to allocate KSh20 billion from the sale of the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) share sale to be used as seed money for the project.
JKIA is likely to be a modern airport after these upgrades to increase passenger traffic to the airport and improve Kenya’s position as a regional hub for air travel.
