World Bank lends Kenya $204 to fix airport

World Bank has approved a Sh17.5 billion ($203.5 million) loan geared towards the reconstruction of Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) arrivals terminal which was destroyed by a fire disaster in August last year.

The fire left thousands of travellers trapped, disrupting international flights for a few days, thus forcing the Kenyan Airports Authority (KAA) to set up a temporary arrangement for international passengers by using a reserved part of the domestic terminal so as to avoid grounding operations at the airport, which is a major tourism hub and key contributor to Kenya’s economy.

The cause of the fire was attributed to electrical faults and its demolition and reconstruction was recommended by structural engineers.

Fire fighters were criticised for being too slow and inadequate to respond, and the authorities were embarrassed by images of soldiers equipped only with buckets of water to fight the big blaze.