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Chinese firm signs Sh2.6bn contract with Kenyan Airports Authority
The Kenya Airports Authority has signed a Sh2.6 billion contract with the Chinese company, China Wu Yi, for the expansion of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, whose capacity is currently overstretched. The 10 month-project is the first phase of a Sh10 billion expansion programme for the airport. The project has been divided into three phases to avoid disruption to the airport's operations.
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The contract covers the first phase which includes the construction of an apron, taxiways,and extension of the fuel hydrant system. When the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport was built, the airport was expected to handle 2.5 million passengers annually, but the traffic has almost doubled, with 4.2 million passengers passing through it last year.
Kenya Airports Authority managing director, George Muhoho, said that on top of the Sh2.6 billion, the authority has added Sh15.9 million to the contract as contingency fees. Out of the Sh2.6 billion, the authority and the contractor have agreed that the authority will pay 30 per cent in US dollars to facilitate the purchase of any equipment they need to import and other costs that are not local, and the remaining 70 per cent in shillings. |
The authority chairman, Erastus Mwongera, appealed to the contractor and consultant (Queen's Quay Architects International) to guarantee completion delivery on deadline. But the China Wu Yi general manager for Kenya, Wan Dongsheng, said that although the deadline was tight, he was confident his company would finish the project on time.
Mr Mwongera said it was critical for the authority to improve the airport so that Kenyans can fly direct to the United States, Latin America, Australia and other destinations. "We have no business making stopovers, which are expensive for all of us to stop in Europe, and we want to go the way of South Africa. You can fly from Johannesburg, or Durban to
anywhere," he added.
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