Kenya Revives $1.2bn JKIA Overhaul After Adani Debacle
Kenya has dusted off its long-delayed plans to overhaul Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, pressing ahead with a $1.2 billion expansion programme that the government hopes will transform East Africa’s busiest aviation hub and put to rest the controversy that torpedoed an earlier attempt to do the same.
The government has appointed the Trade and Development Bank (TDB) and the African Finance Corporation (AFC) as lead arrangers to structure financing for the project, with the two multilateral institutions expected to mobilise additional funding from development finance institutions and commercial banks. Transport Minister Davis Chirchir said the project, valued at up to 154.2 billion Kenyan shillings, would not add to the country’s public debt burden. “The project is intended to be funded through leveraging of airport-based revenue streams. The arrangers will crowd in Development Financial Institutions and commercial banks,” Chirchir said.
The financing model marks a sharp departure from the arrangement that collapsed in 2024. The JKIA expansion had previously stalled following the cancellation of a proposed public-private partnership involving India’s Adani Group, which was expected to finance and develop a new passenger terminal and associated facilities. The termination of the deal left the airport’s expansion plans in limbo amid concerns over the procurement structure and financing terms. The final blow came when US authorities indicted Gautam Adani and other executives over alleged bribery and fraud offenses, prompting President William Ruto to order the cancellation of the process. Adani Group denied the allegations and said it would pursue legal options.
President Ruto signed the National Infrastructure Fund Bill into law on March 9, 2026, ushering in a new era where privatisation proceeds are ring-fenced for financing critical national infrastructure. Kenya has committed to pump Sh38.7 billion, about 20 percent of the estimated total cost, from proceeds of the Kenya Pipeline Company stake sale into the JKIA expansion, with Ruto telling investors: “You are not going to invest alone. We as government are also going to invest so that when you make money, we also make money for our people.”
A tender for the project was advertised on March 3, 2026, and closed on May 14, attracting interest from international contractors , though officials stressed that no contract has yet been awarded. Chirchir rejected media reports linking China Communications Construction Company to the deal, saying the firm “did not participate in this procurement process as a bidder and has no role, involvement or association whatsoever with this project.” He also dismissed claims that the project would cost 375 billion shillings, saying the government does not expect the contract value to exceed 154.2 billion shillings.
The scope of the upgrade is substantial. The project encompasses the rehabilitation of existing JKIA terminals and airfield infrastructure, an upgrade and expansion of the existing terminal buildings, and the construction of new greenfield terminal facilities, airfield infrastructure, aircraft aprons, taxiways, utility networks, access roads, aviation systems, and all associated infrastructure required for a modern international airport. Air cargo at JKIA is expected to grow from 407,214 tons in 2025 to 860,400 tons by 2045, more than doubling the volume over the forecast period. When complete, annual passenger handling capacity is projected to jump from the current 7.5 million to more than 22 million.
The urgency behind the expansion is partly competitive. Ethiopia is pressing ahead with the $12.5 billion Bishoftu International Airport, designed to eventually handle up to 110 million passengers per year and further entrench Ethiopian Airlines’ dominance on the continent. Rwanda, meanwhile, is developing Bugesera International Airport with backing from Qatar Airways. “Countries across the region are making significant investments in modern airport infrastructure. To maintain Kenya’s position as the leading aviation hub in East Africa, we must similarly invest in facilities capable of accommodating future growth,” Chirchir said.
For Kenya Airways, which depends heavily on Nairobi’s role as a transit hub linking Africa with Europe, the Middle East and Asia, the stakes are particularly high. A congested JKIA risks diverting traffic, airlines and investment to competing hubs at precisely the moment regional rivals are scaling up. KAA also intends to develop an Airport City and a Special Economic Zone to position JKIA as a fully integrated aviation-led economic hub, attracting logistics, trade, manufacturing, and service-oriented activities that benefit from proximity to air transport, a vision that goes well beyond runways and terminals.
Kenya must now prove that its revised approach is more transparent and more durable than the Adani arrangement it abandoned. The government insists it is, but delivery, not declarations, will determine whether Nairobi holds its place at the centre of African aviation.
By: Andrews Kwesi Yeboah