Isiolo Airport needs extra Sh4.8 billion to support full operations- CS Chirchir
The government plans to use Sh1.5 billion to fully rehabilitate the existing 1.4-kilometre runway. Another Sh1.5 billion will be used to extend it to 3.5 kilometres.
Fourteen years after construction started, Isiolo International Airport remains a half-done project, with Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir revealing that the facility needs an extra Sh4.8 billion to be completed.
Responding to Isiolo Senator Fatuma Dullo in the Senate, Chirchir acknowledged that despite spending Sh2.97 billion so far, the airport cannot support cargo or commercial passenger services.
"As it stands, the project is a white elephant. The government cannot say it does not have Sh4.8 billion to upgrade the airport. Please give us a timeline you commit to finalise this project," Senator Dullo said during the session.
The CS said the facility, while strategically located to support the northern corridor to South Sudan, Ethiopia, and northern Uganda, faces serious challenges, including flooding that has damaged the runway.
Currently, it only accommodates non-scheduled aircraft, such as helicopters.
"The Kenya Airports Authority is awaiting additional funding from the National Treasury to address the matter, with proposals that include reconstructing runway pavement sections," Chirchir said.
He warned that the runway defects pose safety risks to aircraft operations.
To address the problem, the government plans to use Sh1.5 billion to fully rehabilitate the existing 1.4-kilometre runway. Another Sh1.5 billion will be used to extend it to 3.5 kilometres.
Chirchir also said the plan includes spending Sh500 million for land acquisition to build VIP facilities, hangars, a car park, and to expand access roads.
Drainage improvements will require an additional Sh300 million.
Although initially intended to open up northern Kenya to economic opportunities, the airport remains underdeveloped and constrained by delays in funding.