JKIA car park to be opened August after renovations
What you need to know:
- The reopening will inject about Sh4 million on average into the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA), which manages the facility.
- JKIA was in February given Category One status following several audit processes by the US’ Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
- A huge fire destroyed Terminal 1 in 2013, forcing KAA management to turn the garage into an arrival terminal as a temporary measure.
Jomo Kenyatta International Airport’s car park, which had been converted into an arrivals section after Terminal 1 was destroyed by fire, will be opened next month.
The reopening will inject about Sh4 million on average into the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA), which manages the facility.
KAA General Manager for Marketing and Business Development Jimmy Kibati told the Business Daily that the garage is 95 per cent complete except for a few security items that need to be fixed.
“Work at the garage is complete and it is currently in operation but only to airport personnel, however we will open it next month for commercial use,” said Mr Kibati.
The garage, he said, has parking slots for 1,300 vehicles and each car pays Sh100 on average, however charges depend on the duration that a car is parked.
He said the contactor is fixing more CCTV cameras and working on the carbon monoxide exhauster system, which they hope to automate so that it can turn itself on when the level of the gas reaches a certain level.
Mr Kibati said that securing the facility is one of the measures KAA is putting in place ahead of auditing by a US agency for direct flights to the US.
“We are putting adequate measures in place in terms of security standards, and this includes closing some of the parking yards which are closer to the terminals,” he said.
JKIA was in February given Category One status following several audit processes by the US’ Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Earlier, Kenya had failed to meet a number of conditions, delaying commencement of flights in August 2016.
Handle larger aircraft
A key item on the audit has been security measures that Kenya has put in place to guarantee secure direct flights between the two countries.
The government has set aside Sh8.5 billion for the modernisation of JKIA in this year’s budget.
The funds are to be used to expand terminals 1B, C and D.
Plans are underway to build the second runway to enable the airport to handle larger aircraft.
A huge fire destroyed Terminal 1 in 2013, forcing KAA management to turn the garage into an arrival terminal as a temporary measure.
Work at arrival terminals 1A and 1E has been completed.
Kenya Airways and its Sky Team members are using Terminal 1A.
