Kenya Offers Adani $1.3 Billion Transmission Project Despite Airport Lease Opposition

Nitin Konde, Apoorva Bajj

Sep 17, 2024 — 2 min read

Kenya Offers Adani $1.3 billion Transmission Project Despite Airport Lease Opposition

The Kenyan government has confirmed that the conglomerate will construct power transmission lines, according to a report by a renowned media house. This comes even though the transfer of management of the country's primary airport to the Adani Group, which is led by Gautam Adani, has been met with opposition and protests from unions up until recently.

According to the report, Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco) has awarded a concession for a public-private partnership to construct power transmission lines to India's Adani Group and an entity of the African Development Bank. This information was provided by a presidential economic advisor.

One of the key economic advisors to President William Ruto, David Ndii, announced in a post on X (which was formerly known as Twitter) that the concession is worth $1.3 billion.

The Post on X

For the purpose of constructing new transmission lines, Adani and Africa50 have been granted public-private partnership concessions by the government, as stated by Ndii in the post that was published on X. Their project teams are now being recruited. "We are not required to take out loans in order to cover the cost of these transmission lines, which is $1.3 billion," he said.

The African Development Bank is the organisation that oversees Africa50, which is an investment platform that focuses on expanding infrastructure.

The Deal and Its Detail

The proposal made by the Kenyan government to lease the country's primary international airport to the Adani Group has resulted in strong opposition from the general population and a walkout by those employed in the aviation industry. The Adani Group would be able to lease Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for a period of 30 years, according to the report, and the company would also invest 1.85 dollars in the expansion of the airport.

The firm owned by Adani, which is responsible for the operation of seven airports in India, has been subjected to constant criticism from opposition parties in India. These parties have accused the corporation of profiting from favouritism directed by the government. Government officials in India and representatives of the Adani Group have repeatedly refuted these allegations.

At the moment, Kenya is wrestling with a substantial amount of debt that has been acquired over the course of several years of major investments in infrastructure. A proposal made by the government to raise taxes in an effort to generate funds for debt repayment was met with violent protests earlier this year, which ultimately resulted in the implementation of the idea being withdrawn by the administration.