Government Issues Tender for Expansion of JKIA to Ease Congestion

The Government has announced that the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) has issued a tender for the construction of new airport infrastructure at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and the upgrade of existing facilities to address growing congestion and future demand.

In its third media brief on the project, the Ministry said JKIA — Kenya’s main international gateway and regional aviation hub — is currently operating beyond its design capacity, straining critical infrastructure including the runway, passenger terminals and apron areas.

“Currently, the airport is experiencing significant congestion during peak operating hours, particularly across the runway system, passenger terminal facilities, and apron areas,” the Ministry said in the statement.

According to the brief, JKIA handled approximately 8.93 million passengers in 2025, exceeding its designed capacity of about 7.5 million passengers annually. The airport also operates with a single runway, limiting operational flexibility and redundancy.

To address these challenges, KAA completed an integrated Master Plan and Feasibility Study in February 2026 outlining a phased development strategy.

“The study identified a phased development approach focusing on enhancing the existing terminal and runway infrastructure to address imminent and short-term demand, while simultaneously expanding JKIA to accommodate future and long-term traffic growth,” the Ministry said.

Traffic forecasts covering the period from 2025 to 2045 project passenger numbers will rise from 8.93 million to approximately 22.31 million, representing an average annual growth rate of 4.6 percent. Air cargo volumes are also expected to more than double, increasing from 407,214 tonnes in 2025 to 860,400 tonnes by 2045.

The Ministry warned that without intervention, current infrastructure constraints could undermine operational efficiency, safety margins and the airport’s competitiveness as a regional hub.

“Assessment of future demand against existing infrastructure identifies clear capacity shortfalls across airside, terminal, and landside systems,” the statement noted, citing limited runway capacity, insufficient aircraft stands, terminal congestion and rising road traffic around the airport.

Among the key upgrades planned are the rehabilitation of the existing runway, construction of a partial parallel taxiway, development of two rapid exit taxiways and a runway end exit taxiway to reduce runway occupancy times and improve landing efficiency.

In addition, the government plans to reconfigure, optimize and selectively expand existing passenger terminal facilities to ease congestion and improve service levels.

The Ministry said the proposed works are critical to sustaining JKIA’s role as a hub for Kenya Airways and maintaining Kenya’s position as a leading aviation gateway in the region.