Kisumu Airport Gets a Major Upgrade

A major upgrade of Kisumu International Airport being undertaken by the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) has begun.

The upgrade will see the airport’s capacity doubled, among other improvements. The works are being undertaken with one eye on the Africities Conference which Kisumu is scheduled to host in May 2022.

The expansion is expected to be completed within the next 90 days. It will be undertaken at a cost of Ksh240 million by China Jiangxi International Economic and Technical Corporation.

“We have identified a serious contractor who gave us an assurance that the new airport will be ready ahead of the summit,” KAA Managing Director Alex Gitari confirmed.

“We will also extend the existing passenger terminal building to provide an additional boarding gate area and arrivals hall and a landslide vehicle grade parking,” he further disclosed.

The upgrade is expected to boost Kisumu Airport’s regional profile even after the anticipated surge in activity due to the summit.

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Africities is the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa’s flagship pan-African event held every three years in one of the five regions of Africa.

The 9th edition of the summit lined up for Kisumu has been postponed twice. First due to the Covid-19 pandemic when it struck and, last year, after organizers decided to postpone it yet again.

“The postponement has been necessitated by clashes in the calendar with important international events hosted by the UN-Habitat Board of Directors and the United Nations High-Level Council on the Global Urban Agenda.”

“As you know the UN-Habitat plays a major role in terms of what we want to achieve in positioning Kisumu as the first intermediary city to host the event,” then Devolution Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa stated in August 2021.

The summit is expected to spur heightened economic activity and investment in the lakeside city.

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