Kenya Airport Authority (KAA) Managing Director, Mr. Johnny Andersen. [Photo/mediamaxnetwork]
The upgraded Sh1.7 billion Isiolo International Airport will be fully operational in the next four weeks.
The project which was commissioned by the Retired President, Mwai Kibaki in 2013, has 1.4 Kilometers runway for Code C air crafts.
Kenya Airport Authority (KAA) Managing Director, Mr. Johnny Andersen said the facility is an important link to the new transport corridor which the government is developing under the Lamu Port–South Sudan–Ethiopia-Transport (LAPSSET) corridor project.
The refurbished world-class airport took five years to complete and becomes the fifth largest airport in Kenya. It has been built to the standard of other international airports namely Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Moi International Airport (Mombasa), Kisumu International Airport and Eldoret International Airport.
Speaking during a Media Tour of the airport, Mr. Andersen said the airport occupies 800-acre land and consists of a modern passenger terminal that has a capacity to handle more than 125,000 passengers annually, including parking facilities to accommodate over 200 vehicles.
The Managing Director, expressed confidence saying that the airport will play a more significant role in providing employment to the people of the neighbouring counties, transport tourist and cargo in addition to linking up the neighbouring counties in this region to the rest of the country.
“This facility will play a key role in facilitating transport within the Horn of Africa region due to its strategic location. This region has huge untapped potential that require projects such as this one to be unlocked,” Mr. Andersen said.
He said farmers will be able to export meat products to the Middle East and other parts of the country faster and therefore reducing the cost of transport to farmers. The airport will also play a big role in facilitating transport of khat (miraa) farmers. The business is projected to grow by 35 percent in the county.
The upgrading of Isiolo Airport is just one of several major projects that KAA has implemented across the country. As part of its mandate to administer, control and manage Kenya’s aerodromes.
He said KAA has embarked on a plan to improve existing airports and airstrips as well as build new ones to stimulate growth in key sectors of the economy such as tourism, horticulture, and trade.
“Presently, the authority has several ongoing expansion projects of our main airports and designated airstrips in Nairobi, Kisumu, Isiolo, Embu, Nyeri, and Mombasa and the recently completed Manda Airport in Malindi,” said Mr. Andersen.
KAA’s expansion projects are guided by the urgent need to deploy world-class infrastructure facilities and services in Kenya, as the authority works toward attaining Vision 2030, which is a long-term national development blueprint. To achieve this, the country requires modern infrastructure facilities such as the Isiolo International Airport.
With the new airport, Isiolo County, is expected to occupy a significant position as a precursor to the envisaged status. The airport will connect Isiolo to the rest of the world and play the important role of being a micro-enabler in the growth of the economy of the county, the country and the region at large.
Mr. Anderson is very optimistic about the future prospects, buoyed by recent applications by several airlines to operate at the new airport.
“We have received several requests from a number of airlines including Fly 540 Air Kenya and Fly Sax to operate at the new airport and we are confident that the numbers will go up,” he said.
Press Release