The long-awaited construction or other conversion of Lanet military airstrip into an International Public Airport (Nakuru Airport) is scheduled to begin shortly after the completion of the bid submission process that began early last month. The bids for the construction of the airport will now be checked at the Kenya Airport Authority (KAA) headquarters in Nairobi to decide which bidder will be awarded the contract, according to Governor Lee Kinyanjui, the Nakuru county leader.
The Nakuru Airport project is totally funded by the Republic of Kenya’s national government at a cost of over USD 27 million. The project is to be carried out in two stages.
The initial phase would include the building of a 1.7Km runway, the reconstruction to bitumen specifications of the existing runway, the construction of a fence and the building of taxiways. This will also include constructing a terminal building and a military lounge, building the air rescue and firefighting facility, and building military and civilian gates. In the first phase, both a power substation and a patrol road will be built. The second phase will consist primarily of expanding phase one to allow the airport to accommodate much larger aircraft and may include compensation for nearby residents whose property may be obtained for the project.
Upon completion, the project is predicted to handle approximately 40 to 100 tons of bigger freight and passenger aircraft. It will eventually provide flower farmers in Naivasha with an opportunity to leverage the large available market by growing their exports to Europe and the United States. Because of its proximity to Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), Nakuru airport can also support flights that are usually diverted to Mombasa, Kisumu, and Eldoret during emergency situations.
