Airports authority to build data back-up centre in Mombasa

Politics and policy

JKIA in Nairobi: The KAA controls Kenya’s aerodromes and airstrips. PHOTO | FILE 

By ALLAN ODHIAMBO

In Summary

• The data back-up centre will be based at the Moi International Airport and connected to the authority’s central operations system.

The Kenya Airports Authority plans to set up a multimillion-shilling data back-up centre in Mombasa, barely two years after a freak fire gutted a section of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi.

The KAA said the facility will be based at the Moi International Airport and connected to the authority’s central operations system.

“The data centre will be used as an alternate site to house the authority’s ICT resources,” Margaret Muraya, the acting general manager in charge of procurement and logistics, said in a call for bids from contractors to implement the project.

A huge fire consumed most of JKIA’s arrival and baggage lounges in Unit 2 on August 7, 2013, causing panic over the safety of key systems and records at the airport.

The KAA’s head offices are situated in the expansive JKIA compound but were not affected by the incident that saw flights grounded or diverted to other facilities in Mombasa and Eldoret.

The KAA handles sensitive records given its mandate of facilitating aviation services between Kenya and the rest of the world.

The authority controls and manages the country’s aerodromes and private airstrips, which is a high-security function.

Sources at the KAA said the secondary data centre in Mombasa will be established as a precautionary measure in the event the main system suffered outage.

“It is common practice for firms to back up sensitive files and the KAA is no exception. Accidents can happen and one has to be prepared all the time in terms of backup systems to avoid service interruptions,” said one source.

KAA spokesman Dominic Ngigi was not available for comment on the project that is scheduled for completion within 24 months.

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Keriako Tobiko in 2014 ordered that the police inquiry file on the JKIA fire incident be closed due to lack of criminal evidence.

The early-morning fire was suspected to be an act of arson, but investigations revealed it was caused by an electrical fault.