The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) is taking appropriate measures to prevent a repeat of a blackout that paralysed operations at the ever-busy Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
JKIA, which is ranked among the busiest airports in Africa, suffered a nearly 2-hour blackout when the entire country was pushed into darkness at the tail-end of August this year.
KAA has as a result announced that it is seeking qualified firms to install an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) system at the facility.
In an advertisement dated Tuesday, November 26, the authority indicated that it was working to install a centralised UPS which will help the authority in managing the coordinated system that runs major airports across the country.
The UPS provides a power backup supply necessary to keep systems running after electricity goes off. The system also prevents core appliances from suffering from malfunctions caused by unstable power.
In particular, the centralised UPS system is a backup infrastructure consisting of either one or two large UPS set up to provide power to an entire network.
Late August, JKIA was plunged into a power outage which Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen attributed to system failures.
At the time, KAA indicated that one of the generators serving JKIA's Terminal 1A and the parking silo failed to start.
"I am really sorry for what has happened at JKIA with the blackout. There is no excuse worth reporting, and there is no reason why our airport is in darkness," Murkomen stated at the time.
"I will be announcing the decision we will make tomorrow at 9 am at JKIA after a meeting with the leadership of the airport. Once again, I am sorry."
In its advertisement, KAA also announced it is looking to create a common tea area as well as a mother's room with an equipped kitchen.
At the Moi International Airport, the authority has invited bids from registered youth, women's enterprises, and persons living with disability for the set up of a car wash facility.
