All the junk food makers McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut and others invited to Kenya Airport

Travel Industry New, 23 January 2014

The Kenya Airport Authority has invited tenders from international fast food brands to submit bids ahead of the opening of the new Terminal 4 which is expected to open in a few months’ time.
According to information received from Nairobi, KAA expects some of the world’s big names like Burger King, KFC, Pizza Hut, and McDonalds to compete over the opportunity to establish a presence at East Africa’s largest aviation hub, which is presently undergoing expansion and modernization at an accelerated pace, following the fire in August last year which destroyed the international arrivals hall and triggered some serious fast tracking.

The time frame though appears tight, one source saying it almost appears to be an afterthought, considering the logistics involved in not just evaluating tenders and deciding on a winning bid but also the time then needed for a successful bidder to plan, equip, recruit staff for and then open such a restaurant.
When Terminal 4 opens, with a projected added capacity of at least 2.5 million passengers, the present concourse with units 1, 2 and 3 will be progressively refurbished and modernized to improve the passenger experience which has dragged down the perception of Nairobi being East Africa’s number on hub.
Also under construction are a new temporary unit to bridge the gap between now and the expected opening by 2017 of the Project Greenfield under which not only a second runway and additional parking and apron facilities will be constructed but also a mega terminal which will more than triple capacity and cater for increased traffic into the middle of the 21st century.