Kenya has launched a tender for the construction of a new airport facility next to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi, as authorities seek to ease chronic congestion at the country’s main aviation gateway, the transport minister said.
Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir said late Tuesday that the state-run Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) had issued a competitive tender for the construction of a new passenger terminal and supporting infrastructure adjacent to the existing airport.
The move comes months after President William Ruto cancelled a controversial plan that would have handed operational control of JKIA to India’s Adani Group under a long-term concession agreement.
Kenya has long acknowledged that JKIA, the busiest airport in East Africa and a major regional transit hub, is operating beyond its intended capacity. According to Chirchir, the airport handled about nine million passengers in 2025, significantly above its design capacity of 7.5 million passengers annually.
“The new facility will provide additional passenger handling capacity and modernise critical airside infrastructure,” Chirchir said in a statement, adding that the project would include the construction of a terminal capable of accommodating 10 million passengers per year as well as new taxiways to improve aircraft movement.
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Officials have argued that expanding JKIA is vital to safeguarding Kenya’s position as a regional aviation hub and supporting key economic sectors such as tourism, horticulture exports and international trade.
In November 2024, Ruto halted a nearly $2 billion procurement process that would have seen the Adani Group finance and build a second runway and upgrade the existing passenger terminal in exchange for a 30-year lease.
The decision followed the indictment in the United States of the conglomerate’s founder, Gautam Adani, triggering public criticism and political opposition in Kenya. The government insisted at the time that JKIA was “not for sale” and pledged to pursue alternative financing options.
The new tender signals Nairobi’s determination to proceed with expansion while retaining public control over the strategic asset.
JKIA serves as the main hub for regional and international flights linking East Africa to Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Congestion at the airport has led to periodic delays and concerns about the adequacy of facilities as passenger numbers steadily rise.
Aviation analysts say that improving airport capacity will be crucial if Kenya is to maintain competitiveness amid intensifying regional rivalry.
Neighbouring Ethiopia is constructing a vast new airport expected to become Africa’s largest when completed in 2030, part of Addis Ababa’s broader strategy to cement its status as a continental aviation powerhouse.
Against that backdrop, Kenyan authorities are keen to ensure that Nairobi remains an attractive transit point for airlines and passengers.
“Expanding capacity at JKIA is not just about comfort, it is about economic resilience and regional competitiveness,” a Nairobi-based aviation consultant told AFP, noting that airport infrastructure often serves as a barometer of investor confidence.
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The government has not disclosed the total estimated cost of the new project or the timeline for completion. Details of the financing structure are also yet to be made public, though officials said the procurement would follow transparent and competitive procedures.
Kenya’s aviation sector has rebounded strongly since the Covid-19 pandemic, driven by recovering tourism and growing business travel within Africa.
For authorities, the new airport development represents both a practical response to immediate capacity strain and a long-term investment in the country’s economic ambitions.
As bids are invited, attention will now turn to how swiftly the project can move from paper to runway — and whether it will restore confidence after the turbulence surrounding the scrapped Adani deal.
