State in Sh300mn payout as Malindi Airport upgrade gathers steam

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The government will this month pay Sh300 million to landowners for 25 hectares of land acquired for Malindi Airport's expansion.

According to the Airport's manager Walter Agong, compensation of landowners and 200 households at Kwa Chocha, Malindi County, will pave way for the infrastructure upgrade.

The land parcel will be used to construct six hangars, a business centre and to expand the car park.

Currently, he said, the airport has only three hangars, adding that new ones will bring the number to nine.

“The construction of the six new hangars will be implemented through public private partnership for the airport to create more room for holding more aircraft,” he said.
Additional land

The government has also began the process of acquiring an additional 159 hectares of land to be used for extension of the runway.

“We expect to acquire the land before the end of this year so that the works on the extension of the runway can begin,” Mr Agong said.

The official said a team from the National Land Commission (NLC) is already working on valuation of the land, which will be used to extend the runway from the current 1.4km to 2.5km.

Currently, low-cost carrier Jambojet, Fly540, Fly-SAX and Air Kenya operate six scheduled flights to Malindi per week.

The upgrade is expected to enable the airport have the capacity to handle direct flights from Europe.

Kenya is banking on its refurbishment to rescue Malindi's fledgling hotel industry where facilities are closing down due to a tourist drought.

State in Sh300mn payout as Malindi Airport upgrade gathers steam