Deputy President William Ruto yesterday praised the Turkish government for the construction of the world’s largest $11 billion airport. It will have the capacity to handle 200 million passengers annually.
Ruto , who is still in Turkey after he attended the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, said the airport will boost global trade. The airport will be built in four stages, the first is set for completion by 2018.
He toured the facility with six runways and the world’s biggest duty free shop. While in Turkey, the DP also met British Secretary for International Development Justine Greening and Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs undersecretary general Stephen O’Brien.
Those on the trip with the DP include Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery and Foreign Affairs PS Monica Juma. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Somalia’s Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud and UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon attended the two-day summit.
Speaking in Istanbul, Ruto urged the international community to contribute cash towards the resettlement of the returnees in Somalia. Ruto said refugees are a burden and that Kenya can no longer bear. He said they pose a “security threat, are a haven for terrorism and conduit for contraband goods as well as a danger to the environment”. Ruto said Kenya has been steadfast, despite the huge financial cost.