• Kenya plans a new high-capacity airport as Jomo Kenyatta International exceeds its design limit.
• The project aims to strengthen the country’s position as a major East African air hub.
• Financing remains a challenge amid budget constraints and rising debt.

Kenya will construct a new high-capacity airport to address congestion at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and counter growing regional competition. The announcement came from Transport Minister Davis Chirchir during the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Symposium held in Nairobi on Monday, August 11. The new facility will tackle structural limitations at JKIA, which was built to handle 8 million passengers annually but served 12 million in 2023, according to official data.

"You do appreciate that we do not have an airport; our airport was burnt at sometime around 2013/2014. Our attempts to build a new airport have met challenges due to the democratic space we are in," Chirchir said.

Capacity strain is worsened by delays in expansion projects due to lack of funding. In 2023, a proposed 30-year concession to India’s Adani Group, involving a $1.85 billion investment, was abandoned after union opposition to privatization plans.

Presented as a “national anchor project,” the new airport is designed to attract travelers with state-of-the-art infrastructure and strengthen Kenya’s role as a leading East African air hub. It comes amid fierce regional rivalry, with Rwanda building the Bugesera Airport (planned for 14 million passengers by 2032) and Ethiopia developing a mega-airport in Bishoftu, with an initial capacity of 60 million passengers, expandable to 110 million.

However, the plan comes at a time of fiscal pressure, with rising public debt and limited budget space affecting Kenya’s ability to finance major infrastructure. Similar challenges have slowed other large-scale projects, including the extension of the Standard Gauge Railway and several highway developments.