Construction works on Kenya’s newest airport will commence in January 2012, Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) managing director Stephen Gichuki has said.

The new airport to be built at a cost of US$500 million (about Sh45 billion) is part of the Kenya government’s effort to expand the country’s transport infrastructure to meet the growing demand for air travel.

“We shall be opening the tenders on September 21 and we expect the works to start by January next year,” said Mr Gichuki.

The airport will be constructed at the site of the old tower at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA). The project will take about two years to complete.

Upon completion, the new airport will have the capacity to handle up to 20 million passengers, 50 international check-in points and 10 for domestic flights. It will also have a railway terminus to ease passenger transport to and from the airport.

The airport is part of the infrastructure projects under Vision 2030. Other projects include the construction of Lamu Port and the construction and upgrading of roads throughout the country.

The number of passengers using the JKIA has grown exponentially over the past few years, from 4.7m people in 2008 to the 6.0m passengers anticipated to use the airport this year. The number is expected to grow to 38m passengers by 2030.