Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua has revealed that plans are in high gear to construct an international airport in Machakos valued at Ksh250 million.
Speaking exclusively to Kenyans.co.ke, the vocal county boss disclosed that the airport was part of the promised Machakos City project that is set to make the county an international business hub.
He revealed that he has already secured Ksh100 million from Machakos County Assembly budget allocation which will help in taking care of the basics.
He further noted that the airport was aimed at bringing employment to 50,000 people in the area.
"We have also put money for an airport. We are constructing an airport further than commercial development. The airport is to open up the region.
"We want the airport because it will bring cargo to Machakos and be able to provide over 50,000 jobs. Machakos County Assembly has already put down Ksh100 million seed money which will enable us to do the basics and then it will grow according to the need over a period of time," stated the governor.
"The airport itself will cost us at least Ksh250 million and then we bring private investors who will build on the airport," he added.
He further clarified that the airport was to serve as a complementary to the busy Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
"It will start as a regional airport and within a few years, it will go international. It will be an alternative to JKIA when Jomo Kenyatta is closed, planes can land there but for us it will make us a lot of money. We are upgrading Machakos to an international place which will make the people of Machakos rich," he added.
Our attempts to capture the requirements from Kenya Civil Aviation Authority for an airport's construction were unsuccessful but fiery political analyst Mark Bichache noted that the airport's construction was unnecessary.
Comparing with those in Kisumu and Mombasa, he explained that JKIA remained supreme and that the closeness that Machakos enjoys with Nairobi should show that another airport was not necessary.
"Ksh250 million is very little money. JKIA is one of the best airports in Africa and took a lot of money and time to construct. How do you build an alternative that is not needed?
"Look at Mombasa and other airports, what do they have. But Mombasa can't compete with JKIA and it is far. Unless he is going to do a miracle, it is a waste of time," he explained.
Machakos City
The governor also revealed that the county is set to launch the first instalment of Machakos City which involves his ultramodern office complex that rivals State House which was constructed at a little over Ksh200 million.
"Out of the Machakos City programme, we have a conference facility, Machakos Conference Center, at the People's Park, which costs Ksh73 million and we will be unveiling it very soon. There is also a public facility that costs Ksh37 million and there is another Ksh36 million for drainage, road works and landscaping for the facility and interconnectivity.
"There is also a County Commercial Block coming up, a fire station that has already been built and a major stadium that is coming up," he explained adding that the project would be done by mid-2021.
He also noted that some of the projects were being developed by private stakeholders and that the County received additional funding from the World Bank.
He explained that the initial launch is to take place within two or three months.
