The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) this week rolled out its long-awaited Integrated Master Plan 2025-2045, crafted with Dubai-based consultancy Sidara, outlining a new terminal, second runway and sprawling “airport city” to handle surging traffic and fend off flashier rivals in Addis Ababa and Kigali.
With passenger numbers already straining the facility’s limits – hitting 8.75 million in 2024, up 6.6% from the prior year – the blueprint targets more than doubling capacity to 22 million by 2045. It is a stark shift from the privatised handover that imploded last November, betting instead on transparent tenders and KAA’s own coffers.
“This overhaul isn’t just about bricks and tarmac; it’s about reclaiming Kenya’s spot as East Africa’s aviation powerhouse,” Acting KAA Managing Director Mohamud Gedi said in an interview. “We’ve learned from the Adani missteps – no more shortcuts.”
A Gateway Under Strain
JKIA, Africa’s seventh-busiest airport by passengers, has been limping along on 1970s-era bones. Opened in 1978 as Embakasi Airport, it was designed for far fewer travellers than the hordes now passing through for safaris, business and regional hops.
Last year’s 8.75 million passengers pushed the single-runway setup to breaking point, with frequent outages from power flickers and leaky roofs sparking chaos. Forecasts warn of 22 million by mid-century without action, far beyond the current patchwork of terminals rated for just 7.5 million annually.
President William Ruto, who axed the Adani pact in his November 2024 address, called the decay a “national embarrassment” last month, vowing upgrades to match global standards. “Leaking roofs and broken belts aren’t just inconvenient – they’re costing us tourists and trade,” he said.
The fallout lingers. Aviation unions, who orchestrated a crippling September 2024 strike that grounded flights and stranded thousands, still eye the process warily. “Adani’s shadow hangs heavy,” said Moss Ndiema, secretary-general of the Kenya Aviation Workers Union. “We’ve got veto power now, but only if funding stays Kenyan-controlled and jobs are ring-fenced.”
Core Upgrades: Terminals and Tarmac
The plan’s centrepiece is an X-shaped terminal, starting with capacity for 10 million passengers and scalable to 15 million. Gone will be the snaking queues and jumbled halls; in come four piers, segregated domestic and international lanes, modern e-gates at immigration, and retail zones to rival Dubai.
The real game-changer is a second 4,000-metre parallel runway. JKIA’s lone strip has long been a bottleneck, closing for maintenance or monsoons and racking up delays. The duplicate will allow simultaneous takeoffs and landings, matching rivals like Ethiopia’s Bole.
Interim fixes start soon: rapid-exit taxiways and partial parallel taxiways to unclog the airfield by 2026. Cargo facilities will expand, maintenance bays will grow, and fire crews will get a major upgrade after repeated safety warnings.
The rollout is phased: quick wins like terminal refurbishments and airfield tweaks by 2030; the heavy lifting – new terminal and runway – from 2030 to 2035; and cargo blowouts plus possible extra piers by 2045.
The Adani Debacle: Lessons in Transparency
The blueprint owes its existence to the Adani collapse. In March 2024, Adani Airport Holdings secured a privately negotiated 30-year lease to build and run a bigger JKIA. By May it had a preliminary green light, despite bypassing open bidding.
Outrage erupted. Unions feared mass layoffs; leaked documents showed Adani planned only taxiway upgrades instead of a full second runway. A September 11 strike paralysed the airport. Courts froze the deal over lack of public participation.
The final blow came in November 2024 when U.S. authorities indicted Adani chairman Gautam Adani on unrelated bribery charges. Ruto cancelled the agreement within days.
Funding for the new plan is expected to reach $2 billion, drawn from KAA revenues, concessional loans from institutions like the European Investment Bank and Japan International Cooperation Agency, and competitive tenders for individual packages. No single operator will take overall control.
“We build first, concession later if needed,” Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir said.
Airport City Dreams
The boldest vision is a 1,000-hectare “airport city” of hotels, logistics hubs, offices and a special economic zone, modelled on Doha and Istanbul. Officials say it will create thousands of jobs and turn JKIA into an economic engine beyond aviation.
Regional Rivals Circle
Time is short. Bole International, Kigali’s upcoming Bugesera airport and Dar es Salaam’s newly expanded terminal have steadily eroded JKIA’s dominance. Ethiopian Airlines and RwandaAir now capture transit traffic that once flowed through Nairobi.
Surveys begin next month, with bids for early works expected by mid-2026. If delivered, the overhaul could finally give Kenya the world-class hub it has promised for decades – this time with the government firmly in the driver’s seat.
(Reporting by Joyce Agallah; Editing by Ericson Mangoli)
