Wilson Airport to get Sh700m terminal

Local airlines are proposing to put up a Sh688 million terminal at the Wilson Airport in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model project. The new terminal is expected to give the airport a major upgrade. Most facilities at the airport have only had minor facelifts since the airport was put up during the colonial era.

Air operators have now drawn up a proposal where they intend to partner with the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) - which manages all local airports - to put up the new terminal. The terminal has been estimated to cost $6 million to $8 million (Sh526 million to 702 million). Airlines plan to raise half of the money internally while the remainder will be raised through debt.

They have already formed an investment vehicle, the Wilson Airport Terminal Company (WATCO) to mobilise the resources. “If we have a new terminal in place, it will increase flights to the region and enable airlines take advantage of the county system of governance. It will also ease pressure on JKIA, by bringing some of the regional flights to Wilson,” said the Kenya Association of Air Operators (KAAO) Chief Executive Col (Rtd) Eutychus Waithaka. “The new terminal will deal with some of the challenges that the airport currently faces, like congestion and effective security screening. Passenger and baggage handling has also been a challenge.”

KAAO contracted consultancy firm Bottomline Basics to do a study on the airport and develop the proposal. The firm proposes a Build Operate Transfer model, where the airlines will put up the terminal, operate for some time to give it time to recover costs and make some profits before reverting it to KAA. “Payback might not take long but the idea is to have a functioning airport. We have proposed that the airlines operate the terminal for 45 years but this is subject to further discussions,” said John Gachoki, the chief consultant at Bottomline Basics. KAAO and WATCO plan to present the proposal to the PPP Unit at Treasury this week.