A project to expand the Kitale airstrip will start this month, looking to boost the rising demand for local travel. On Friday, Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) awarded a KSh221 million tender to ASAL Engineering and Consult Company to undertake the project. The upgrades are part of a series of countrywide airport upgrades for six airstrips.
According to KBC, the construction will take ten months, and run in two phases. The first phase will involve building a standard runway. Later, the second phase will entail the construction of an administration block that will host a VIP lounge.
“The construction, according to the contractual document, is to take 18 months but we will take ten months to ensure that the airstrip returns to its normal activities as soon as possible,” KAA Regional Manager, Walter Agong, said on Friday.
Devolution CS Eugene Wamalwa confirms that the Kitale airstrip facelift will help boost economic activity in Western, improving both transport and business sectors.
The authority last year pledged to invest in airport facelifts countrywide to improve aviation. Daily Nation reports that the agency had set apart KSh1.2 billion for renovations of Malindi and Lokichogio airports, as well as Isiolo, Kabunde, Kakamega, Kitale, Migori and Bomet airstrips. However, the agency was in the spotlight for failing to implement the projects, returning the amount to the Exchequer.
SEE ALSO: KAA to Spend KSh350 Million on Wilson Runway Repairs
