The country is moving ahead with plans to transform Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. 

Kenya has invited bids for the design and construction of a major expansion of Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), including a new passenger terminal and supporting infrastructure, as part of a long-term plan to transform the facility into an integrated aviation and economic hub.

In a tender notice issued on Tuesday, the Ministry of Roads and Transport said it was seeking sealed bids for a design-and-build contract covering the development and modernization of the airport.

Mandatory pre-bid meetings and site visits will be held on April 8 and 9, with submissions due by April 23.

The expansion follows the completion in February of an Integrated Master Plan and feasibility study that outlines phased development of JKIA between 2025 and 2045 to address congestion and meet rising demand.

Capacity Strain

JKIA, Kenya’s main international gateway and hub for national carrier Kenya Airways, handled about 8.93 million passengers in 2025, exceeding its designed capacity of approximately 7.5 million passengers annually, according to the Ministry of Roads and Transport.

The airport currently operates with a single runway and a terminal complex expanded incrementally over the years, resulting in operational bottlenecks across the runway system, apron areas, and passenger facilities.

Traffic forecasts project passenger numbers rising from 8.93 million in 2025 to about 22.31 million by 2045, reflecting an average annual growth rate of 4.6%. Air cargo volumes are expected to more than double over the same period, from 407,214 tonnes to 860,400 tonnes.

The master plan identifies capacity shortfalls in airside, terminal, and landside infrastructure, warning that without intervention, congestion could erode operational efficiency, safety margins, and JKIA’s competitiveness as a regional hub.

In the short to medium term, the project will upgrade the existing runway, develop a partial parallel taxiway, and construct rapid exit and runway-end taxiways to increase throughput and reduce runway occupancy times.

Existing passenger terminals will be reconfigured and selectively expanded to ease congestion, while passenger processing systems, including check-in, security screening, immigration, and baggage handling, will be digitized and modernized.

Over the longer term, the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) plans to build a new passenger terminal capable of handling an additional 10 million passengers annually, with provision for further expansion. The project will also include new taxiways, aprons, and aircraft support facilities, as well as upgrades to air traffic control, firefighting, cargo, maintenance, fuel and utility infrastructure.

Landside access roads and parking facilities will be upgraded to improve connectivity and reduce congestion.

The government has previously said it is seeking up to $2 billion from international development lenders to finance the works, after scrapping a proposed concession agreement with India’s Adani Group in 2024.

Airport City and SEZ

Beyond core aviation infrastructure, the master plan incorporates the development of an Airport City and a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) as long-term components designed to reposition JKIA as an aviation-led economic engine.

KAA said the SEZ would target high-value, time-sensitive, and export-oriented industries such as air cargo logistics, agro-processing, pharmaceuticals, light manufacturing, e-commerce fulfilment, and regional distribution.

The Airport City will accommodate commercial developments including business parks, corporate offices, hotels, convention and exhibition facilities, aviation support services, and mixed-use projects. Airline Geeks