Evaluation of public utility projects: the case of Eldoret international airport

Abstract

The research looks into operations and performance of Eldoret international airport as a public utility. Efforts have been made to evaluate performance by establishing whether cargo tonnage of industrial and commercial nature have been increasing or decreasing ever since the inception of the airport. Passenger use of airport has also been established, so do the flow of tourists to western part of the country through the facility. The research is a case. It has thus used the case study approach in which case the population of interest is centered within the airport. However efforts were made to seek information from relevant ministry officias and stakeholders in Eldoret town. The data needed was obtained through face to face interviews with various airport officials. A questionnaire was also prepared and used. The questionnaire was aimed at gauging the peoples' attitudes and general feelings on the presence and eventual use of the facility in the region. Tables, graphs and charts have been fully used in the analysis of the data. The data analysis revealed that since the beginning of operations aircrafts have been increasing in the airport. However both cargo and passengers in terms of tonnage and numbers have been respectively decreasing. The reducing trend was noticed from 2003 when the government surprisingly slapped a ban on cargo and other flights from using the airport. Two types of recommendations are given. It is instructive to learn that people around Eldoret do not have an affinity for aircraft flights. This is unlike those around Kisumu who have a high flavor for flights. It's something to be recommended for further research. The entrepreneurial spmt of the people around the catchment area of the airport is still low. This again is recommended for further research. Further recommendations have been given on the way forward for the airport .I Strongly hold that if the airport management were to make use of these recommendations, good results would be achieved. However some of the recommendations require time to implement.