Uhuru Is To Blame For Leaking JKIA Roof- CS Murkomen
Murkomen claimed the administration had turned a blind eye to poor workmanship by the contractors and engineers who were doing renovations at Terminal 1C and 1E during Uhuru's regime.
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Transport Cabinet Secretary (CS) Kipchumba Murkomen on Tuesday, November 14 squarely laid blame on retired President Uhuru Kenyatta's administration for the leaking roofs that turned the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi into a hallmark of jokes and criticism on social media.
Speaking in Diani, Kwale County while inspecting the expansion of Diani Airport, Murkomen claimed the administration had turned a blind eye to poor workmanship by the contractors and engineers who were doing renovations at Terminal 1C and 1E during Uhuru's regime.
He accused the contractors of rushing to implement the temporary renovations without meeting the required standards since the government was in the process of decommissioning the terminal and constructing a new one.
Leaking roofs at JKIA terminal in Nairobi. /X
Murkomen however promised that the renovations would be done in line with the required standards, a matter that he tasked the contractors working on the country's biggest airport.
“When we got into the office we found that the projects in the previous regime were substandard.
"When the renovation was done on Terminal 1C and E, it was in a hurry and temporary because there needed to be set up an in-field project which was costly. But we have spoken to the contractors to redo the job” he revealed.
Furthermore, the CS noted that smaller pipes within the airport that carry water were leaking but repairs were already underway.
"We can't continue to use this airport as it is. That is why we have a feasibility study ready and the president has said a new terminal will be delivered in less than three years with private contractors," he said.
JKIA and its leaking roofs, right at the passenger check-in in the international departures section, drew massive uproar on social media after a video surfaced showing water dripping ferociously through the roofs of the terminal.
This had otherwise spoiled a comfortable experience for passengers queuing to check in for their flights and made the work of crews at the check-in desks difficult.
The saga manifested into a political standoff as Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei took aim once again at Murkomen for what he termed as ignorance in maintaining one of Kenya's grand entry points.
"CS Murkomen came all the way to Nandi County two weeks ago and called me a fool I thought he had finished all the works in Ministry of Roads & infrastructure! While he was busy insulting me, there was no standby generators at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and the airport terminal roofs are leaking massively!" he posted on X (formerly Twitter).
"JKIA is a steeplechase arena! Waziri wacha aibu ndogo mbele ya wageni fanya kazi! Poleni wageni (CS, stop embarrassing us in front of visitors and do your work. Apologies to the visitors)...Look at the video below of the massive leaking of JKIA Terminal roofs!"
Notably, the terminals were revamped at a cost of Ksh963 million featuring an array of state-of-the-art features that include security features, modernised self-check-in points and a brand new look and feel to rival some of the world's biggest airports.
The terminals also featured new waiting areas that seemed to face the departure aprons to give passengers that luxury lounge experience that comes with waiting to board their flights.
In addition, Murkomen revealed that a new contract will be awarded to construct a new terminal in the greenfield area at the Airport, a contract that will be a private-public partnership and will commence in January 2024.
"We want to build a new terminal in the Greenfield side beginning January so that in less than three years, it will be completed through partnerships with private firms," he stated.
"We already have the feasibility study and the President has said we have to deliver a complete new Airport by 2027."
On the power supply at the airport, Murkomen disclosed that the government has already fixed the outage issue by installing a standby generator even though there are still hitches regarding interchange time.
He revealed that the power interchange is now taking 20 minutes but they are working to ensure they reduce the time to 30 seconds.
