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NAIROBI — Kenya’s President William Ruto faces mounting pressure over a series of controversial proposals by an Indian conglomerate to upgrade aging infrastructure in the country.
The Adani Group, founded by billionaire Gautam Adani, is seeking to manage and operate the country’s largest airport — the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) — in a 30-year lease. The proposal would see the conglomerate invest $1.85 billion to upgrade facilities at the airport. Adani also pitched a $725 million proposal to construct around 400 kilometers of power transmission lines.
The proposals have been publicly endorsed by senior officials and Ruto’s allies. The administration has generally argued that, with Kenya currently burdened by expensive debt repayments and citizens opposed to tax hikes, public private partnerships such as the ones proposed by Adani offer a useful alternative. Ruto himself has endorsed PPPs as a way to ensure JKIA remains competitive in the region. But experts question whether taxpayers would get value for money, and criticize a perceived lack of transparency.
The airport proposal was first disclosed earlier this month by a whistleblower on X sparking widespread uproar. It also emerged that Adani’s privately initiated proposal ran contrary to a recommendation for the government to undertake an open bidding process for the airport upgrade project.
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A Nairobi court last week temporarily stopped the government from acting on the Adani proposal for JKIA. Civil society groups argued that the country had other ways of raising the $1.85 billion Adani is proposing to spend on upgrading taxiways and other facilities at the airport. The activists described the proposal as “irrational.” Lawyer Dudley Ochieng, in court documents, said the Adani proposal was “unaffordable”, adding that it threatened job losses and exposed the public.
And Ketraco has been hard pressed to explain its relationship with Adani and the status of its proposal. Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi on Monday said the proposal by Adani Energy was still under review, even as he emphasized that close to $5 billion was required over the next 20 years for a complete revamp and expansion of Kenya’s power transmission infrastructure.
Martin’s view
The mystery surrounding the proposals by Adani and its negotiations with the government fueled the controversy. More open and participatory processes that include the public could have resolved many of the issues before they emerged.
Workers at the airport, for example, went on strike last week over the Adani-JKIA proposal, fearing for their jobs if it sailed through. Some analysts also fear that a deal with Adani to upgrade transmission lines could translate to higher energy costs for Kenyans.
But, ultimately, it is an economic question. How to finance the development and upgrades of key infrastructure without taking on expensive debt or turning to tax hikes — which sparked a massive youth-led revolt this year that saw 60 people killed.
Anderson Njuki, a Nairobi-based economist, told Semafor Africa that the current administration was likely to roll out “even more” public-private partnerships to finance major infrastructure projects. This, he said, was because it was short of options with debt repayments accounting for nearly 70% of its revenues. Njuki, however, asserted that improved transparency would be necessary to avoid reprisals by the public and courts.
Room for Disagreement
Adani this week defended itself in response to a court case seeking to block its proposed 30-year airport concession. The company said its proposal was still under review, and maintained that due process had been followed. Adani further backed its proposal, saying PPPs offered “the necessary capital infusion to expedite upgrades and modernize infrastructure.”
The View From India
Leaders of the Indian National Congress, the largest opposition party in India, have criticized the proposal by Adani to take over Kenya’s biggest airport and its potential impact on India’s global reputation. They also questioned alleged ties between Adani and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “The Prime Minister’s collusion with the Adani Group has contributed to the erosion of India’s strength and led to unprecedented setbacks on the global stage,” a party leader said.