President Uhuru Kenyatta now pledges airports upgrade to lure tourists

By WINSLEY MASESE

Kenya: The Government will continue expanding airport facilities as part of its strategy to attract tourists and investment, President Uhuru Kenyatta has said.

One of the projects, the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport’s (JKIA) Terminal 4, will be launched in July and will double the capacity of the number of passengers the airport can handle.

The Government is building Sh55.6 billion Greenfield Terminal, which is set for completion in 2017. The facility will increase JKIA’s passenger handling capacity to 20 million passengers. The current airport was originally designed for an annual capacity of 2.5 million passengers. Presently it handles 6.5 million – or three times more than it was designed to handle, leading to difficulties in meeting international customer service standards.

“We are confident, the standard of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport will, indeed, be significantly enhanced as an international hub when these projects are all completed,” he said.

Long-term priority

Airport upgrade is part of the government’s long-term priority of improving the country’s infrastructural facilities to facilitate long-term development as envisaged in Vision 2030.

While unveiling Boeing, 787 Dreamliner, the President however urged Kenya Airways to make optimum use of its factors of production to compete globally.

While operating in a global context, the President identified the need to look into the pilots’ costs as a significant part of the payroll besides training across fleets, productivity and other related costs as imperative. “Kenya’s labour is less productive than our closest competitor, the Ethiopian Airline and this needs to be challenged in this period of rapid growth to derive the best possible results,” he said.

The acquisition is part of KQ’s 10-year fleet renewal Business Plan under ‘Project Mawingu’ in an effort to bolster Kenya Airway’s domestic, African and international route network and further deepen its trade connections with the world, especially through long haul flights.

Last year, KQ acquired the Boeing 777 to increase its flights to China.

This is projected to improve the country’s trade volumes as well as drive tourism numbers upwards as part of its broader objective to attract investment to create jobs and wealth.

The new acquisition, named the ‘Great Rift Valley’ is projected to push Kenya’s presence in the continent and attract more investments. The ‘Great Rift Valley’ is the first of six Dreamliners that Kenya Airways expects this year.

Company Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Titus Naikuni noted that acquisition of the Dreamliner will enable it expand its network across the world in a cost-effective manner.

“We intend to begin flying to Paris, Beijing and Shanghai, in addition to increasing the frequency of our flights to Guangzhou,” Mr Naikuni stated.

The new aircraft is expected to commence commercial service in June, operating direct flights between Nairobi and Paris.

The aircraft features the very latest in aerodynamics, design and advanced technologies, provide better fuel efficiency of up to 20 per cent compared to other long-haul aircraft.