A section of Wilson Airport. FILE PHOTO | NMG
NAIROBI Kenya, Nov 4- Uncollected junk aircraft are up for grabs following an announcement by the Kenya Airports Authority.
In an advert, the KAA announced the auction of 73 uncollected junk aircraft at its four main airports for prices as low as Sh5,000.
The airports authority invited interested bidders for planes that have overstayed at their yards at the Jomo Kenyatta, Moi, Wilson and Lokichogio airports.
Of the 73, only nine will be auctioned at a cost above Sh1 million. The most expensive aircraft will be sold at Sh25 million.
Somali Air Force, Jetlink, Skyward, Eagle Aviation, Prestige Aviation, Fly540, Pan Africa Airways and Planes for Africa are among some of the entities whose aircraft are lying uncollected at the four airports.
KAA said parking fees were accumulating and the companies were not paying up. The abandoned planes have also congested the airports, disrupting other activities and posing a security threat.
This is not the first time KAA is inviting the public to buy uncollected items from its airports. The state agency held a similar sale in 2019 as part of a clean-up programme.
Interested bidders can view the planes from November 4-16 during normal working hours. Auctions of aircraft at Nairobi airports (Jomo Kenyatta International and Wilson) will take place on November 17.
At Moi International Airport in Mombasa, planes will be sold on November 19, and at Lokichoggio on November 22.
“All interested purchasers are requested to view the items as per the dates and verify their respective details as these are not warranted by neither the auctioneer nor KAA as the items are being offered for sale ‘as is-where-is’,” the notice read.
Bidders will have to pay a deposit of Sh100,000 per item on auction. Where the bid price is lower than the deposit price, the bidder will be refunded the difference after presenting a receipt. But where the bid price is higher than the deposit, the bidder will need to pay not less than 25 percent of the total value.
“The balance of the auctioned item must be paid within 24 hours (or) the award will be cancelled and the deposit forfeited and the item sold to the second-highest bidder. The sale will be subject to the reserve price,” the ad said.
KAA also requires all purchased items to be paid for and collected within seven days of the date of the auction or it will start charging storage fees of Sh10,000 per day until they are picked up. If the items are not collected within 14 days, they will be forfeited to KAA.
