Kenya secures loan for airport expansion

According to Airnews.com, Kenya's airport authority has received full funding offers from three banks to build a new terminal and second runway at its main Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, which was hit by a massive fire last month, the transport minister said earlier this week.

The $653 million plan to expand the airport, a regional gateway for passengers and cargo, is not new, but the authorities have come under pressure to speed up the expansion after the blaze destroyed the arrivals terminal.

The new terminal and runway will provide a further capacity of 40 million passengers, seen by government as necessary to cope with the anticipated boost to the economy the expected exploitation of oil reserves will bring.

The old arrival hall stands empty after the blaze, while giant tents act as the arrivals terminal. Even before the fire, Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta Airport, built in the 1970s to handle 2.5 million passengers annually, was struggling to handle more than six million people a year as its regional importance grew.