KAA’s Terminal Four nears completion

By Macharia Kamau

Nairobi, Kenya: The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) will open Terminal Four for use by passengers on July 4. The new terminal is expected to ease pressure on the current departures unit (terminal 1) as well as retire Terminal Four’s car park garage from use as an arrivals hall.

Transport and Infrastructure Cabinet Secretary Michael Kamau said the terminal was nearing completion and KAA was in the final phases of operationalising it.

“We have accelerated the on-going work on Terminal Four, which will increase the capacity of the airport. The terminal will be opened on July 4 2014,” he said.

The coming into operation of Terminal Four has been put off severally. Its construction was supposed to have been expedited and was initially to start operating partially late 2013 but then postponed to early 2014.  The Transport Ministry has in the past said it was working with a mid-2014 date with August as the latest when it would put the terminal to use.

 Eng Kamau has in the past said the operationalisation of the terminal was put off to allow KAA procure necessary passenger amenities as well as baggage handling facilities. The passenger amenities include duty free shops.

A previous tender process to get a retail master concessionaire was nullified after some of the companies that had expressed interest claimed the process was flawes.

KAA restarted the process afresh this week. Other facilities in Terminal Four include basic amenities for passengers, including boarding bridges, proper furniture within the departure lounges and duty-free shops. Passengers would also have to be ferried by buses to go and board aircraft due to incomplete status of the terminal.

Kamau spoke on Thursday evening during the launch of low-cost carrier Jambojet. The airline, wholly owned by Kenya Airways, will make its maiden flight to Mombasa on Tuesday April 1.

More bookings

It will initially use three aircrafts – Boeing 767 – and operate 62 flights a week from Nairobi to Mombasa, Eldoret and Kisumu.

It will later operate flights to other areas in Kenya as well as other cities within the region. “We are optimistic that once we launch flights on local routes, bookings will increase significantly,” said Willem Hondius, chief executive officer, Jambojet. Kamau said the airline would increase inter-county trade and domestic tourism.

“The launch of Jambojet will spur trade, investment and tourism by easing movement of people, especially young Kenyans in search of much needed business opportunities between our towns, cities and counties and who desire a safe speedy, reliable and efficient mode of transport,” said Kamau.

The airline is offering fares as low as Sh2,850 for one-way tickets from Nairobi to Mombasa depending on the time of booking.

Tickets on the route previously cost upward of Sh8,000.