The government has announced it is open to a new investor taking up the expansion of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) following the cancellation of the Adani-JKIA deal.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi, speaking in Kisumu on Saturday, November 23, stated that the government is now free to explore new partnerships with interested parties.
He explained that the Adani deal was structured as a Privately Initiated Partnership (PIP), which allowed for termination at any time. Mbadi emphasised that this cancellation was possible because the contract had not yet been signed, which was the situation in Kenya’s case.
“The Adani procurement system was a PIP, which meant that it could be terminated at any time, at any stage, so long as you have not signed the contract,” he announced.
“We are still open to any other investor out there who wants to come in and invest by partnering with the government to develop JKIA,” Mbadi affirmed.
The CS added that it was imperative for renovations to be conducted at JKIA due to its deteriorating state and pressing problems. This year, videos emerged of the international airport leaking from its roof during the heavy rains.
“The investment is a must because we need to address the state of JKIA. JKIA is now outdated and dilapidated. It is not an airport that can compete with others in the region,” he noted
Mbadi’s comments followed President Ruto’s cancellation of the JKIA-KETRACO-Adani deals, which were valued at Ksh338 billion. Ruto announced this decision during his State of the Nation address on Thursday, November 21.
The cancellation came after Gautam Adani, the founder and CEO of the multibillion-dollar Indian company Adani, along with seven other executives, were indicted by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in New York on November 20 for allegedly bribing Indian government officials.
According to a report by CNN, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Lisa Miller stated that the bribes were intended to convince the officials to lie to investors and banks in order to raise billions of dollars and obstruct justice.
“This indictment alleges schemes to pay over $250 (approximately Ksh32 billion) million in bribes to Indian government officials. These offences were allegedly committed by senior executives and directors to obtain and finance massive state energy supply contracts through corruption and fraud at the expense of US investors,” she stated.
However, Adani has come out and denied the allegations, stating that the accusations levelled against the company were “baseless”.
Source: kENYANS.CO.KE