KAA risks losing Sh205 million JKIA parking fees

Passengers at the international arrivals at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. PHOTO | DIANA NGILA | NMG   

By BONFACE OTIENO More by this Author

The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) risks losing Sh205 million in parking revenue after Kenya Airports Parking Services (KAPS), which collects the fees at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), failed to remit.Auditor General Nancy Gathungu says KAPS collected the

money but has never remitted it to the agency to date.The amount includes Sh132 million, representing 65 per cent of revenue arrears outstanding in the past nine months.READ: KAA appeal spares Kenya aviation crisis“It was noted that KAPS had not remitted revenue totaling Sh205,067,842. The recoverability of the amount due from KAPS remains doubtful,” says Ms Gathungu in the report tabled in the National Assembly last month.The report does not say why the firm has not been remitting KAA’s parking revenue at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi despite entering into a binding agreement on how collected parking revenue should be remitted to the agency.The two firms entered into a concession agreement for installing, operating and maintaining an automated car parking management system at JKIA in August 2019 with KAA.The deal stipulated that the concessionaire shall pay the authority a concession fee of 82 per cent of parking revenue collection.The payment from KAPS was subject to a minimum annual guarantee of Sh20 million, which was payable in equal monthly instalments by the fifth of every month.The KAA renewed the KAPS contract in September 2018 after a firm known as Endeavour Africa (K) Ltd, which had been found most responsive, was allegedly disqualified for presenting fake papers.KAPS, which was the second most responsive firm, was awarded the tender, but two other bidders — Mason Services Limited and Qntra Technologies Limited — contested the decision at the review board on the grounds that KAPS is a foreign company.ALSO READ: CIC loses in tender row with KAAThe Public Procurement and Administrative Review Board (PPARB) in 2019 cancelled the contract awarded to it by the KAA and disqualified it from participating in the tender.The firm moved to court seeking to salvage a lucrative contract to run its car park system at JKIA.The developments are coming at a time the KAA introduced new standard parking fees at Kisumu International Airport and Mombasa’s Moi International Airport after taking over control of the car park systems at the two installations.Under the new arrangement, the KAA said it would manage parking operations at the two airports on an interim basis as it prepares to issue a fresh tender for installing, operating and maintaining an automated car park system at the two airports.The contract to manage the crucial service at both airports was previously held by Mason Services Limited.→botieno@ke.nationmedia.com