Migori County has officially opened its doors for daily commercial flights, giving the county a competitive edge in business and tourism opportunities in South Nyanza.
Speaking during the official launch of commercial flights, the Cabinet Secretary for Roads, Transport, and Public Works, Mr. Kipchumba Murkomen, said that the national government was in the process of expanding the runway to accommodate more commercial flights and flight cargo.
Murkomen, however, challenged the county government to identify land for the runway expansion to ensure that the project is implemented as early as next year.
Currently, Migori Airstrip has a runway of 1.2 kilometres that is capable of handling a 50-seater plane. When the runway is expanded to 1.7 kilometres, it will be able to handle 100-seat planes.
“The Ministry of Transport has been having problems compensating land owners because whenever there is a requisition of land to expand or develop government projects, the rates are hiked 10 times the original price,” said CS.
Murkomen also applauded the Migori county government for fully cooperating with the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) and the national government to ensure the commercial flights were a success.
“I want to applaud Migori County because it has become the first county in the country to build an airstrip terminal,” noted Murkomen.
The CS disclosed that the airstrip will open up business opportunities in the agriculture and fishing industries, the two most common economic activities in the county.
He also noted that the government will expand the Migori terminal to accommodate Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) offices and make it a border airstrip.
Murkomen explained that when Migori becomes a border airstrip, the country will minimise business hindrances and improve cross-border business with Tanzania.
The CS also promised that there was already a plan to improve Lake Victoria ring roads to enhance the road transport network in the large Nyanza region.
The chairperson of the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA), Mr. Caleb Kositany, acknowledged that the government would put up an additional terminal worth Sh200 million to expand the capacity of the Migori airstrip.
Once completed, the terminal will be able to handle 350,000 passengers per year, making it one of the busiest airstrips in the Western region.
Kositany urged the residents of Migori County to build capacity and ensure the airport is active with daily flights.
The official also explained that the Migori airstrip, which is among the 22 charted airstrips in the country, could only make economic sense if the residents could use the facility daily.
However, Migori Governor Ochilo Ayacko acknowledged that the newly launched terminal would make Migori reachable to tourists and create business opportunities, making the county a focal point in South Nyanza.
Ochilo called upon all the Migori elected leaders to promote the county in order to give the airstrip the capacity to sustain commercial flights.
Skyward Express, Air Kenya, and Safarilink are some of the companies that will operate commercial flights between Migori and Wilson Airport in Nairobi.
The Skyward company has also scheduled three flights per week to give passengers travelling to and from Nairobi more opportunities to travel.
The Migori airstrip will also be able to serve the South Nyanza region as well as the Masaai Mara in Narok and the Serengeti in Tanzania.
By Geoffrey Makokha
