JKIA-Adani Lease: Fresh Details Show Govt Rushed Through Deal with Indian Firm for 18 Days

 

 Adani Group founder and chairman Gautam Adani 

Adani Airport Holdings, a subsidiary of Adani Group, has filed its responses to a case challenging its acquisition of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA). Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) and the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) filed a case challenging the implementation of the JKIA lease deal with Adani Airport Holdings. High Court Judge J. Chigiti issued conservatory orders on the issue, directing respondents, including Adani Group, to file responses within five days.  According to the court papers, the Indian firm developed an interest in the management of JKIA on March 1, 2024. The company proceeded with establishing a public-private proposal (PPP) and submitted it to the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) within the same day. 

How long did KAA take to approve Adani's proposal? KAA, on its part, analysed the proposal within 17 days from the date of receipt on March 1, 2024. On March 18, 2024, the authority cleared Adani Group to continue with the feasibility study for the airport's development. On March 28, the company concluded the feasibility phase and handed its financial plan and value for money to KAA for the completion of the agreement.  Was there another proposal other than Adani's? According to Business Daily, Kenya's government received a similar proposal from Argentinian firm Corporacion America Airports SA in June 2024. However, the government has yet to respond to the company, which is among the world’s largest airport operators. 

In its petition, Adani further noted that the project is yet to be approved by the Kenya authorities, who are still undertaking due diligence. "The project is still at the review and due diligence stage, and the averments by the applicants that the JKIA has since been leased for 30 years is premature and is an outright misrepresentation of facts,” read the court papers filed by Adani lawyers in part. Other details in JKIA-Adani lease deal Meanwhile, President William Ruto's administration remained adamant about signing a deal with the Adani Group to manage the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA). Transport Cabinet Secretary (CS) Davis Chirchir revealed that the Indian firm plans to build a city facility on a 30-acre piece of land near the airport.Chirchir said the new project is not part of the concession deal to run JKIA for 30 years but will ramp up the airport revenues. 

by  Wycliffe Musalia