The government is not selling the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), but bringing in private investors to help in its refurbishment, President William Ruto has said.
Seeking to allay fears that the government was disposing of the country's largest airport to a foreign firm, the Head of State spelled the need to bring in investors who will pump in money towards sprucing the below-par facility through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.
“The airport we have in Nairobi is made of canvas in the middle or tarmac that is the arrivals, this is a temporary structure we put up almost seven years ago. Ethiopia and Rwanda have brand new airports,” said the President.
“I have seen very many people saying William Ruto wants to sell the airport, am I a madman? How do you sell a strategic national asset? You have to be insane. We must have the right investment for the airport,” he added.
Dr Ruto said the PPP has the potential to bring in private-sector money and blend it with public-sector investment into a win-win situation. He cited the Nairobi Expressway which was built under PPP arrangement.
President Ruto said his administration will employ the same model to extend the superhighway from Nairobi-Nakuru-Eldoret-upto Malaba.
“That is what we are going to use to do many of our roads. That is what we want to do with our airport. We want to work with the private sector for them to do three critical things in our airport; build a new terminal, a new runaway and refurbish the facility,” said President Ruto.
Speaking in Mombasa during his first town hall meeting since he was elected while engaging the citizens and stakeholders from different fields, President Ruto said the airport built by the State almost 50 years ago, must be modernised.
“I agree that we need to approve a few more airlines although it’s a delicate balance between allowing more people to fly because anybody we allow to fly here must also allow us to fly to their destination so that it becomes even,” said the President.
He said his administration is in talks with some international airlines to fly directly to Kenya. For instance, Etihad is set to fly four times a week to Kenya while the direct flights deal with Turkish and Qatar airlines is yet to be concluded.
“In 2022 we were at 1.4 million arrivals, last year we hit the two million mark and this year, we will achieve 2.5 million arrivals, the highest numbers in Kenya. Because of the profile we have built, I am Kenya’s chief marketer, wherever I go I raise our country’s profile,” said President Ruto.
However, tourism and travel industry players, led by Mr Mohamed Hersi, urged the Head of State to address the issues bedeviling the national carrier.
Mr Hersi said the state has been bailing the national carrier year in, year out.
“We have been fighting for open skies policies for a long time, around 2007-2008, Moi International Airport was getting 42 charters weekly but the charter business is dying, we now need to replace them with scheduled flights,” said Mr Hersi.
He said the likes of Turkish, and Qatar airlines were flying into Mombasa but after Covid-19, they were denied the licenses to ‘protect’ Kenya Airways.
“If Kenya Airways was flying to Istanbul, we would not ask for a flight to Istanbul. When you take an airline like Turkish Airlines to Mombasa, it will connect the tourism hub to 18 cities in Germany alone. Qatar Airlines will take us to over 150 cities globally direct to Mombasa,” he added.
The tourism expert lauded the State for clearing international airlines such as Fly Dubai to fly directly to Mombasa.
“Something needs to be done at Kenya Airways and I am working on it. This year they made a profit but I will strengthen it to serve our country better,” said President Ruto.
Last year, Kenya granted Ethiopian Airlines more flights into Mombasa alongside the United Arab Emirates carrier, Fly Dubai, adding another cash-rich airline on the route.
Mr Hersi said international tourism is boosted through accessibility and that air connectivity is a major challenge in Kenya.
“Kenya is considered a long-haul destination, anything above five hours is a long-haul. Morocco, Algeria, and Egypt are considered short-haul which is four-five hours, but Kenya and South Africa are sub-Saharan so we hit eight hours and above,” explained the tourism expert.
Mr Hersi said Kenya can achieve the five million arrivals mark a year by 2027 once it addresses the accessibility challenges.
“But we struggle to even hit two million arrivals annually. There’s no reason we can’t hit three, four, or even five million arrivals by 2027 but for us to reach there, we must do a few things,” said Mr Hersi.
The tourism expert urged the Head of State to enhance accessibility to the country, especially for international tourism through the open skies policy by increasing direct flights to and from Kenya to boost tourism arrivals and revenues.
“Our national carrier, despite all its challenges, is the biggest source of passengers into Kenya, 60 percent of visitors coming to Kenya come aboard Kenya Airway, in a single day they have around 110-130 flights,” explained Mr Hersi.
“Kenyans are overall warm and friendly people, while other countries struggle with attitude issues, you don’t have to teach Kenyans how to smile, it's natural. We treat guests well,” said Mr Hersi.
