KAA confirms Adani Group's Proposal for major JKIA upgrade

KAA Acting CEO Henry Ogoye told the media that the country's ageing infrastructure poses a threat to its regional competitiveness, necessitating an overhaul. 

According to Ogoye, a comprehensive upgrade initiative approved by the Cabinet, known as the JKIA Medium Term Investment Plan, required significant capital investment that the government could not afford given current fiscal constraints. 

Adani’s proposal, KAA explains, includes significant improvements to the passenger terminal building, runway, taxiway and apron. 

"The Cabinet approved the JKIA Medium Term Investment Plan covering the upgrade of the passenger terminal building, runway, taxiway and apron, " the KAA said in a Wednesday media statement. 

"The attendant investment requirement is significant and cannot be funded with the prevailing fiscal constraints without recourse to private funding."

According to KAA, the partnership with Adani, which will be formed under the Public Private Partnerships Act 2021, will go through rigorous technical, financial, and legal reviews to ensure compliance with the act. 

"The Project Agreement will also involve thorough stakeholder engagement, approval from the National Treasury, clearance from the Attorney General, and final Cabinet approval." Ogoye added. 

KAA also addressed concerns raised by staff and the airport business community, assuring them that no jobs would be lost as a result of the planned upgrades. 

According to the Authority, the expanded facilities will create new business opportunities and benefits for airport operators and the broader community.

The government on Tuesday moved to allay fears that it was intending to sell off the airpor amid concerns of a shadowy deal. 

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi told the National Assembly Budget and Appropriations Committee that the sale of such a valuable asset could only take place after public memoranda and parliamentary approval. 

"The airport is not on sale. This is a public asset, a strategic asset. If it was going to be sold, you can only do it after a full public process that parliament endorses,” Mudavadi told MPs. 

The Prime CS said that instead, there are plans to modernize the airport and build a new terminal. 

“The Kenya Airport Authority (KAA) must look at its investment programme very carefuly, make sure that everything is transparent. So that during the expansion process of the second terminal, let it be done through the legal process so that everybody knows what is going on,” he added. 

Kisii Senator Onyoka is among legislators who have publicly discussed reports on the JKIA take over. 

He claims the government has handed over the airport ownership to unnamed foreign players.

“We are signing off our airport to be run by a private company for 30 years and after the contract expires, they will keep the equity of our airport at the rate of 18 per cent. Why would anyone sign such an agreement?” posed the senator, citing an unnamed French whistleblower.