Adani has a good track record - Isaac Mwaura

Addressing the press on Thursday, Mwaura lauded the Indian firm for its admirable track record in India, expressing confidence that they will successfully facelift the international airport.

"We really need to change going forward and that is why we need a strategic partner bit I can say this without a fear of doubt that Adani has a very good track record in India and other places in investments," said Mwaura.

Mwaura further noted that the $1.85 billion (Ksh.242 billion) investment deal will fix most parts of the airport including terminals, the runways, and the now dilapidated roofs that always leak during torrential rains.

"The facility is only able to cover 7.5 million passengers but last year alone we covered 8.6 million so we can cover even more like 10 million," noted Mwaura.

"We put tents that were next to the runways, they had a 10-year period, it's now over nine years that is why they are leaking, they cannot sustain. They've also made a proposal to refurbish and create new electricity lines so that we don't have the power outages because of the fact that the current lines cannot carry the load that is why we have load shedding everywhere."

Mwaura added that Kenya has to welcome external players to finance the nation's development.

He noted that the nation, currently facing a harsh cash crunch, is forced to rope in foreign financial muscle to help it achieve its ambitious development plans.

"You'll be seeing more of these. We'll be getting more PPPs and PIPs so that then we have a way of refinancing our own development because the issue of borrowing is becoming a challenge," Mwaura added.

This comes amid harsh criticism as Kenyans have smelt a rat in the deal, given that the government has failed to make public the details of the partnership.

"Nobody will be adversely affected even those that are workers. I can assure you it will be handled in a proper manner," Mwaura assured.

Adani Holdings, according to the Indiatimes, does not have a clean closet as Mwaura alluded.

In 2023, the company was being investigated after account books and other related papers associated with Mumbai International Airport Ltd and Navi Mumbai International Airport Ltd were put to question under fraud allegations.

Adani Holdings were managing the two airports.

During the same year, Adani Group also faced another heavy share selloff after Hindenburg Research, a US short seller, accused the head of India’s market regulator of having links to offshore funds also used by the group.

Adani Group, the sprawling ports-to-power Indian conglomerate, saw billions of dollars wiped from its market value after a bombshell report by the Hindenburg forensic financial research firm accused it of "brazen" corporate fraud.

The family-run conglomerate's founder, Gautam Adani, the world's 12th richest person according to a Bloomberg index of the world's billionaires, denied the allegations made in that report, calling it a "deliberate attempt" to damage its image for the benefit of short-sellers.

The planned take-over of JKIA, planned for November, is however fast approaching as Adani has already incorporated a local firm dubbed Airports Infrastructure PLC in fillings done with the National Stock Exchange of India.

In their papers, the new subsidiary will take over, operate, maintain, develop, design, construct, upgrade, modernise and manage the airports.