Nakuru County's long-awaited dream of having an International Airport is about to be achieved as tenders for the construction is set to be issued in August.
Confirming the project, Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui said the Sh3 billion Lanet Airport which has been awaited since 2004 will be done in two phases as set out in the project plan.
The Governor said although Nakuru county has a lot of tourist sites, the sector has been lagging behind due to lack of an airport and upon the completion, the county will receive a lot of international tourists.
“Flower farmers in Naivasha will have a chance to exploit the huge market available by increasing their exports to Europe and the United States," Kinyanjui was quoted by the Kenya News Agency (KNA).
The Governor further noted that the airport will aid in emergency landing for Jomo Kenyatta International Airports (JKIA) which for a long time has been using either Eldoret, Kisumu or Mombasa which is too far.
"My administration has lined up a lot of projects which will be of big benefits to the county and investors," he said.
According to the county boss, the construction of the Lanet Airport was set to begin in 2011 but the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) failed to approved the plan on the grounds that it was on a flamingo migratory route.