Kisumu airport to open cargo handling unit by July

Kisumu International Airport plans to open a cargo handling unit by July to boost logistical connection to traders from 10 counties on the Lake Victoria basin.

The plan is hinged on construction of a cargo apron and fuel depot, which will accommodate up to 40 tonne-cargo aircraft. The facilities are about 90 per cent complete at the moment.

“We are ready to start the operations of the cargo wing as soon as works on the two main components are complete,” the airport manager Joseph Okumu, told the Business Daily in an interview.

“A second runway is also in place with long term plans set to establish park houses.”

The Kenya Ports Authority plans to set up larger warehouses and other commercial developments to lift the status of the airport that currently handles more than 300,000 passengers annually.

Mr Okumu said tenders for the remaining facilities like construction of 120 transit sheds (loading and offloading terminals) have been awarded in readiness for commencement of general cargo handling next year.

The cargo, to be handled by the airport, will range from general dry consignments into the region and export of fresh produce to the international markets, Mr Okumu said.

Transglobal Cargo Centre, a Nairobi-based company is expected on the ground after it won the tender early this year.

The airport is eying linkage with several African destinations once its cargo business begins, having received enquiries from various carriers to start shipment. “The airlines are just waiting for a green light from us,” Mr Okumu said.

Jubba Airways in a deal with Pandi Fresh Foods Company, the exporter that initiated the plan, in January said it would lift fresh produce from the airport to eastern and central Africa markets in the first phase.

Mr Okumu said investors are banking on the completion of the cargo apron and installation of fuel pump by Total Kenya to start conveyance of goods.

Players argue that Kisumu Airport will only thrive if farmers in the Lake Basin region venture in high-value horticultural crops that can be sold in the international markets.

Ambassador Elkana Odembo said farmers in the region were yet to make full use of the fertile soils around Lake Victoria for crop production.

“The big question has been: what can we do with the airport cargo facilities if there is no stable supply chain to sustain the airlines that may express interest in moving horticultural crops to international markets?” Mr Odembo said during the regions’ business summit held in October.

The plan to start cargo transport comes as a boon to agencies like Horticultural Crops Development Authority which has been campaigning to promote production of fresh produce in western Kenya.

“We have two cargo trucks that were sent to the region for purposes of supporting the delivery of horticultural crops, but these have been idle because of the absence of cargo flights from Kisumu airport,” said the agency’s Western Kenya regional manager, Florence Khaemba.

Kenya Airports Authority pledged to open up the construction of more aprons to private investors. The tenders are yet to be advertised for interested parties to bid.

Western Kenya Hotel Managers Association chairman Robinson Anyal said the region needs more than just the passenger airlines that have been plying the route.

“Tourist arrivals will rise further when the region becomes a new hub for export business,” Mr Anyal told the Business Daily.

Competition among four airlines, including Kenya Airways, Jambojet, Fly540 and SkyAero, have so far made travel through the airport less costly.