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Jomo Kenyatta International Airport is being expanded this year (Image: Getty)
A new £1.49 billion airport has been announced for a major African city, with work set to begin this year. The president of Kenya revealed construction on Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi will start before the end of the year.
In his New Year’s message, President William Ruto said: “In 2026, we will begin the construction of a modern, world-class airport at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, to anchor our nation as the aviation capital of our region.” He said this was in the hope of “boosting our trade and tourism sectors”. The Kenya Airports Authority stated that the new infrastructure would focus on enhancing passenger handling and accommodating projected growth in air traffic over the coming years.
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The expansion will cost an estimated £1.49 billion (Image: Getty)
It includes a new terminal, a second runway and an “Airport City” to ease congestion at the overstretched facility.
The government is seeking investors and public-private partnerships. According to Reuters, the airport expansion is expected to cost approximately £1.49 billion.
Located in the Embakasi suburb, 11 miles southeast of Nairobi's central business district, the airport has scheduled flights to destinations in over 50 countries.
The airport, with two terminals, served over 9 million passengers in 2024, making it the sixth busiest airport in passenger traffic on the continent. This exceeded the airport’s current capacity of 7.5 million passengers, underscoring the pressure on existing infrastructure.
Opened in 1958, it also handled over 364,000 ton of cargo and mail in 2024, making it the top airport in freight traffic on the continent.
This comes after plans to expand the airport collapsed in 2024, with the government cancelling the £1.38 billion deal with India’s Adani Group.
Scrapped after legal challenges and public pressure, this plan would have added a second runway and upgraded the passenger terminal in exchange for a 30-year lease.
The other three important international airports in Kenya include Kisumu International Airport, Moi International Airport, and Eldoret International Airport.
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