Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has dismissed reports that the planned expansion of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) will cost Ksh375 billion, saying the project is currently estimated at Ksh155 billion.
Speaking before the Senate on Wednesday, Mbadi said some of the figures circulating in public discussions and media reports do not reflect the government’s actual projections for the airport upgrade.
“Senator Onyonka, I know it has been reported that JKIA is going to cost about 2.9 billion dollars. The figure that I know is half of that, it is 1.2 billion dollars,” Mbadi told senators.
The CS urged Kenyans to be cautious about information being shared regarding the project, noting that some reports had overstated the expected cost of the airport expansion.
“You do not rely on figures that are flying around, especially from some print media, some specific newspapers,” he added.
Mbadi also sought to assure lawmakers that the project would not add pressure to Kenya’s public debt burden.
According to the Treasury CS, the expansion is among the major projects earmarked for financing through the proposed National Infrastructure Fund (NIF), which the government is positioning as an alternative way of funding large-scale development projects.
His remarks come amid growing public interest in the future of JKIA, Kenya’s busiest airport and a key gateway for international travel and trade.
In recent months, questions have emerged over the cost of the project, the procurement process and the companies expected to participate in the planned modernisation works.
There were indications that the upgrading of the airport was to be done using a 20-year masterplan going into 2045. This was to be done in phased manner to enable infrastructure expansion in terms of increased passengers’ and cargo traffic.
Though the government has insisted that the project is needed to increase the efficiency of JKIA, there have not been any disclosures of details regarding the financial and procurement models used.
This latest update on JKIA comes several months since President William Ruto confirmed that construction of the new airport would commence in June 2026. At that moment, President Ruto stated that the government had received seed capital for the establishment of the National Infrastructure Fund through sale of shares in Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC).
President Ruto added that Kshs 20 Billion from that exercise would serve as initial capital in the expansion of JKIA, which has operated as the country’s leading international airfield for the last seven decades.
Once completed, the project is expected to transform JKIA’s infrastructure and support the government’s plans to position Kenya as a leading regional transport and logistics hub.