Several traffic lanes closed at JKIA as new parking system is installed

Entry service lanes at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) will be temporarily closed starting Saturday.

Also Read: Safaricom eyes parking billions in partnership with KAPS

The Kenya Airports Authority said the closure will be during the off-peak hours: 8:30am to 1pm and then again from 11pm to 4am.

“During this period, the airport’s Cargo Gate will remain open for 24 hours to ease traffic. Motorists and/or passengers are advised to plan accordingly and allow extra time when coming to the airport as delays may be experienced,” the statement reads.

Normal traffic flow is expected to resume by January 23.

The closure of the entry service lanes is to enable the installation of a new car park management system at the JKIA.

Kenya Airports Parking Services (KAPS) has been running the system for the last 21 years.

In September 2018, the Ksh.250million contract was said to have been ‘controversially’ renewed after beating six other bidders.

Also Read: Kenya Airports Authority sued for hiking JKIA parking fees

However, one of them–Mason Services Ltd and joint venture partner Qntra Technology—contested the outcome.

According to a local daily, they accused KAPS of fraud because of its shareholding by a foreign company..

The Public Procurement Administrative Review Board then reportedly found anomalies in the tender documents.

KAPS then lost the contract to continue running the automated car park system at the airport.

JKIA is Kenya’s largest aviation facility and the busiest airport in the East African region.

According to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, the total number of passengers handled at the airport increased by 16.8 percent from 10.1 million in 2017 to 11.8 million in 2018.