Jomo Kenyatta International May Get New Runway
Report from the Daily Nation: Airport to have extra runway Story by NATION Team /Parliament Publication Date: 11/2/2005 The Government plans to build an alternative runway at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to cope with emergencies. Transport assistant minister Andrew Ligale said the project was suggested after an accident on October 1 in which a cargo plane crashed-landed, forcing the Kenya Airports Authority to suspend the use of the sole runway for eight hours. He denied claims by Mr Jimmy Angwenyi (Kitutu Chache, Ford People) that the airport was closed for 24 hours to local and international flights. Asked why the authority needed eight hours to clear the runway, Mr Ligale said the plane was loaded with 110 tonnes of fresh produce bound for Amsterdam. Mr Angwenyi accused the assistant minister of misleading the House, saying he was on a trip to South Africa on the day of the accident and his flight to Nairobi was delayed for 48 hours. "Can the minister tell us why it had to take eight hours just to clear the runway after the cargo plane crash-landed at the end of the runway?" Mr Angwenyi asked. Mr Davies Nakitare (Saboti, Narc) asked the assistant minister to explain if the delay was caused by inefficiency on the part of the KAA. "JKIA is the busiest airport in Africa. What plans are there to cater for such emergencies?" he asked. Mr Ligale denied claims that the authority was inefficient and blamed the delay on the heavy cargo that had to be offloaded. Mr Angwenyi said he was surprised to watch a television news bulletin showing airport workers physically clearing the huge aircraft from the runaway. "The Government is not serious about JKIA. Can we be told what was the real cause of the long delay in clearing the cargo plane?" he asked. Meanwhile, Finance minister David Mwiraria said 145 parastatals had been privatised in the past decade. But he was unable to tell Mr Mwandawiro Mghanga (Wundanyi, Ford People), how man employees had been retrenched or the total amount of funds raised from the bidders. Mr Mwiraria said the list was long and that a number of the affected corporations such as Kenya Cashewnuts had been closed. The minister singled out Kenya Airways as the most successful of the privatised parastatals that had not only made huge profits, but had increased the number of employees over the years. Mr John Sambu (Mosop, Kanu) demanded a breakdown of the number of employees retrenched and the total revenue collected by the Treasury after selling the corporations. "Is he in order to say that I was in government at that time therefore I should know the answer?" he asked. Reported by Owino Opondo and Odhiambo Orlale Considering that the issue was discussed in Parliamnet, I wonder how serious the Govt is about the additional runway which in my opinion is really needed. I hope the statement was not made to satisfy the MP who claims his fight to NBO from JNB was overly delayed. Cheers, Walter