Murkomen faults Uhuru regime for leaking roof, power blackout at JKIA
Murkomen said the previous government did shoddy work in the maintenance of the JKIA facility and other 12 airstrips across the country. Murkomen said the renovation at JKIA in terminal 1C and I1 was sub-standard because it was only meant to serve temporarily.
Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has faulted the previous government for the poor management of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. His sentiments following a leaking roof incident at the JKIA. Murkomen said the previous government did shoddy work in the maintenance of the JKIA facility and other 12 airstrips across the country.
"When we got to the office, we found out that many of our airports are in a pathetic state and JKIA leaking is a result of that," he said.
Murkomen said the renovation at JKIA in terminal 1C and I1 was sub-standard because it was only meant to serve temporarily. He made the statement at the Ukunda airstrip in Kwale County. He said the President's Uhuru government rushed the projects and didn't reach the required standards.
The CS said most airport projects are uncompleted because they were given to unqualified contractors who couldn't deliver but to waste money and taint the reputation of the current government. Murkomen said the issue of power outage at JKIA is also part of the poor work done by Uhuru's regime. He, however, said he had spoken to the contractor who was given the JKIA renovation tender to redo the work.
Murkomen said he has also directed the management of the Kenya Aviation Authority to consider addressing the power outage issue come up with a permanent solution and make further improvements. He said the power problem is unacceptable and the respective authority must be put to the task. Murkomen said the process of installing an automatic generator is ongoing and urged the contractor to speed up. "I directed the contractor on site to install a generator but has been slow arguing that going faster could disrupt the wiring in other areas that had electricity at JKIA," he said. He added that the current generator is not effective as it takes up to 20 minutes to start and the new one will take the shortest time of 30 seconds to restore power.
He said the current government is determined to solve all the problems and bring better services to the JKIA. Murkomen said the government in partnership with the private sector is looking forward to constructing a new airport to enhance air services. He said the new airport project is expected to be commissioned in January. "A new contract will be awarded to construct a new terminal in the greenfield area at the Airport," he said.
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