SPEAKING NOTES FOR LUCY MBUGUA MANAGING DIRECTOR, KAA AT

THE AVIATION MEDIA WORKSHOP ON JUNE 26, 2014

Chairman KCAA Hon. Samwel Poghisio
Director Nicolas Bodo - Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure
Ag. Director General Joseph Kiptoo
Members of the Fourth Estate;
Colleagues from KAA, and KCAA;
I am pleased to welcome you all to this seminar, which is jointly hosted by the
Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) and the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA).
Together, KAA and KCAA are the state corporations responsible for managing
and regulating the aviation industry in Kenya.
Allow me to begin by thanking you for your continued support to KAA as an
institution and the industry as a whole. The media has been an important ally
and partner, and we appreciate the very important role that you continue to
play in spurring economic development.
Of key significance is the critical role that you played following the unfortunate
fire incident at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on August 8,
2013. Through your reporting on the remedial measures that we had taken, the
country was able to recover fast from the setback and reassure the world that
JKIA was open and functional. The stories, pictures and videos went a long way
in driving our recovery process. Within a month, JKIA was able to return to
normal operations.
This is just one of the many ways that you have provided support to KAA; and
we are immensely grateful. Thank you for communicating the many great
developments at KAA, keeping us in check and offering constructive criticism.
Today, we are deepening and widening this great relationship through this
forum. The workshop is meant to grow understanding of the aviation industry
and its role in the development of Kenya.
Ladies and Gentlemen;
Allow me to give a brief overview of KAA. KAA was established in 1991 under
the KAA Act, Chapter 395 of the Laws of Kenya as a state corporation. Its role
is provision of facilitative infrastructure for aviation services between Kenya
and the outside world. We are responsible for managing all airports and
airstrips in Kenya. The authority has a board of directors that provides
strategic direction; with day to day operations implemented by staff across the
country.
The main airports we manage the following international airports; JKIA, Moi
International Airport, Eldoret International Airport and Kisumu International
Airport. Domestic Airports include; Wilson Airport, Malindi Airport, Lokichoggio
Airport, Lodwar Airport and Wajir Airport and finally Ukunda, Manda,
Kakamega, Eldoret, and Kitale airstrips.
We also act as an agency to the central government for construction and repair
of government airstrips.
The authority has prioritized the expansion and modernization of JKIA, which
is one of the key flagship projects of Vision 2030. This will enable us to take
advantage of our geographic positioning as a gateway into the region. Terminal
4 will be ready for use from 4
th
July 2014. We have other major projects going
on at JKIA that include construction of a interim terminal that will handle 2.5
million passengers, the construction of a temporary arrivals and lounges at
unit 3.
Safety and security remains an important objective to us. KAA is continually
investing in measures to enhance the security at all airports across the
country. A state of the art security vehicle screening yard is currently been
constructed ay JKIA that will use the latest security equipment to ensure only
sterile vehicles access the airport. All new infrastructure coming up will have
world-class safety and security features in place. We are also setting up similar
features on the existing infrastructure.
Expansion of the aviation infrastructure in the country is key to opening up the
counties and unlocking the many economic opportunities that we have. Going
forward, KAA will continue expanding existing aerodrome facilities and
establishing new ones. A functional aviation infrastructure is crucial in
spurring economic growth.

Ladies and Gentlemen;
In conclusion, I wish to reiterate our commitment as a company towards
maintaining cordial working relations with the media fraternity. Through our
Corporate Communications Department, we will continue to host forums such
as these to engage and interact. Our communication channels remain open. As
you may be aware, we also have strong presence on social media platforms,
through which we can engage and get feedback.
I wish you fruitful deliberations during this workshop.
Thank You.