Kenya has reopened bidding for the modernization of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), restarting plans shelved after the cancellation of the controversial Adani Group proposal.
- •In a public notice issued by the State Department for Aviation and Aerospace Development, the government called for sealed bids under a design-and-build contract structure.
- •Under the design-and-build model, a single contractor or consortium will be responsible for both architectural planning and construction, consolidating risk and potentially accelerating delivery.
- •The JKIA currently handles roughly 8.8 million passengers annually, already exceeding its original design capacity, with traffic estimated to surpass 22 million passengers by 2045.
The notice does not specify the project’s estimated cost, scope or funding structure. However, the modernization of JKIA has long been viewed as central to Kenya’s ambitions to cement its role as a regional transport and logistics hub, supporting tourism, horticulture exports and transit traffic across East and Central Africa.
Modernization plans have ranged from the construction of new terminals capable of handling millions of additional passengers, a second runway to increase aircraft movements and reduce delays, and expanded taxiways to improve operational efficiency.
Landside improvements will upgrade access roads, parking, and cargo handling facilities, while new baggage systems, check-in areas, and air traffic control technologies are expected to enhance passenger experience and safety. Beyond the airport itself, officials envision integrating the facility into an airport city and special economic zone, with hotels, business parks, and logistics hubs designed to cement Nairobi’s competitiveness in the aviation sector.
Under the government’s modernization plan, a new terminal is expected to add space for an additional 10 million passengers, bringing JKIA’s total medium-term capacity to around 15 million per year.
The last modernization bid by Adani Group faced public furore as it involved a PPP setup that would grant the Indian company ownership of the country's main airport for 30 years. The plan faced further pressure for cancellation when the conglomerate’s chairman, Gautam Adani, was indicted in the U.S. on bribery-related charges.
Kenya's Fiscal Bottlenecks
Kenya’s renewed airport drive unfolds against an aggressive aviation expansion elsewhere in the region. In January, Ethiopia broke ground on a new multi-billion-dollar international airport at Bishoftu, south of Addis Ababa, designed to eventually handle up to 110 million passengers annually in a phased expansion.
While the need for modernization of JKIA is clear, the government is cash-strapped and debt has climbed steadily in recent years. Alternative mechanisms to fund infrastructure, including the PPP model, encounter political problems and legal gridlocks.
Treasury is crafting a new KSh 5 trillion National Infrastructure Fund that will mobilize capital for highways, railways and airports. That plan, however, remains young and too ambitious to determine if it would work as projected.
The Bishoftu project led by state-owned Ethiopian Airlines, is backed by a mix of airline balance sheet funding and development finance, including support from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).
The project is intended to relieve pressure on Addis Ababa’s Bole International Airport and reinforce Ethiopian Airlines’ dominance across African skies. The carrier already offers the continent’s largest seat capacity and operates an expansive hub-and-spoke network linking Africa to Europe, Asia and the Americas.
Ethiopian Airlines’ scale and state-backed expansion have long overshadowed Kenya Airways, which endured financial strain after an overly ambitious fleet expansion in the 2010s.
Kenya is also moving forward with plans for a second major international gateway near Konza Technopolis, a project aimed at easing congestion at JKIA and supporting the country’s long-term aviation growth.
Scheduled to break ground in 2026 with an estimated cost of KSh 264 billion, the Konza airport is envisioned as a modern facility with new terminals, additional runways, and expanded apron space. A shift in focus to the new major airport along the same corridor, could potentially divert financing from the JKIA modernization.
A modernized JKIA could provide Kenya Airways and its partners with improved infrastructure to densify routes, reduce turnaround times, and attract additional transit traffic. Without comparable investment, Kenya risks ceding further ground to Addis Ababa as the region’s primary intercontinental gateway.
