The Malindi airport. The airport presently has three hangars. [Photo/ mediamaxnetwork.co.ke]
The government will in May pay Sh300 million to owners of the 25 hectares of land reserved for Malindi Airport’s expansion.The Airport’s manager Walter Agong said the payment of the landowners at Kwa Chocha will pave way for the airport’s upgrade.The land will be used to build a car park, a business centre and six hangars.The airport presently has three hangars.“Construction of the six new hangars will be implemented through public-private partnership for the airport to create more room for holding more aircrafts,” Agong said.He said the government has also kicked off the process of acquiring another 159 hectares to be used for the extension of the runway.“We expect to acquire the land before the end of this year so that the works on the extension of the runway can begin,” he said.Agong said officials from the National Lands Commission are evaluating the land, which will be used to extend the runway from the current 1.4 kilometres to 2.5 kilometres.Some of the aviation companies flying aircrafts to Malindi include Jambojet, Fly540, Fly-SAX and Air Kenya. They operate six scheduled flights every week.The expansion will enable the airport handle direct flights from Europe, Agong added.The upgrade is foreshadowed to boost Malindi’s tourism where hotels are closing due to low tourist numbers.