NAIROBI; KENYA: President Uhuru Kenyatta on Saturday said work is going on to make Jomo Kenyatta International Airport an air travel hub in Africa.
Speaking after touring the facility, the President expressed satisfaction that operations at the airport have resumed to levels prior to the fire incident, a month ago.
“With the kind of development we are seeing here, we are hopeful that we will be able to get the airport to be an air travel hub in Africa as a whole,” the President said.
Following the President’s directive, the Garage Facility at the new Terminal Four was opened for Arrivals and the tents that were previously used have been removed. Work on the new Terminal Four has been fast-tracked and it will be completed by December.
He said work on the new Greenfield project, a completely new terminal building at the airport, will start in the coming week and be completed within three years.
“We hope to perform the ground-breaking for the Greenfield project building that should be operational within three years,” the President said.
He thanked development partners for standing with Kenyans following the fire incident, expressing special appreciation to the airport contractor who remodelled the airport’s garage area into a temporary arrival terminal at a cost of Sh87 million without charging the government.
The temporary terminal currently being used has greatly improved operations at the airport.
He commended the airport management for their good work and urged them to continue working in collaboration with development partners to ensure the comfort of airport users.
The President was accompanied on the tour by Transport and Infrastructure Cabinet Secretary Eng Michael Kamau and Kenya Airways Managing Director Titus Naikuni among other senior Government officials.
-standardmedia.co.ke
