Government Commits to New Partners After Adani Cancellation

The government is fully committed to adopting public-private partnership (PPP) models to finance the country’s mega infrastructure projects, despite the Adani debacle.

Following President William Ruto’s cancellation of Adani Group-led initiatives for the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO), the lingering question was whether the government would halt plans adopting PPPs.

However, Principal Secretary (PS) for the State Department of the National Treasury Chris Kiptoo clarified that the government was still exploring alternative public-private partnership (PPP) models.

This, according to Kiptoo, was because of the simple fact that the country’s fiscal position is untenable, making it impossible for the government to finance key projects by itself.

The other option would have been to review the country’s tax policy, but that already proved impractical after the explosive anti-Finance Bill protests in June and July 2024.

While appearing before the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Monday, Kiptoo further highlighted the need for an upgrade of Kenya’s busiest airport JKIA, which has experienced busier days in recent years.

“JKIA, when it was built and designed, was meant to handle about 5–7 million passengers,” the PS noted. “Today, as the East African hub, it is handling in excess of 10 million passengers. Therefore, it is in dire need of upgrading and modernisation to accommodate these numbers.”

According to the PS, the amount required for a project as huge as upgrading an international airport cannot be raised through the national budget.

He added: “The only viable way to finance this is through a public-private partnership (PPP) model. Since Kenyans have rejected the Adani Group, we will need to identify a partner with better ideas and options to execute the project, not necessarily Adani.”

Bura MP, Hon. Yakub Adow also addressed the committee, as he welcomed PPPs as a sustainable solution to further long-term infrastructural projects in the country. He, however, insisted there was a need for transparency from the government to ensure widespread acceptance from the public of such partnerships.

“The National Treasury must involve the public sufficiently to enlighten the masses and secure legitimacy for these projects. If these deals are shrouded in secrecy, as was perceived in the case of the Adani Group’s proposals for JKIA and KETRACO, it will be disastrous,”  Adow said.

Kiptoo’s sentiments came just days after government spokesperson Isaac Mwaura welcomed Kenyans to submit alternative proposals to aid in the development of the country’s main airport and electrical infrastructure a week after Ruto cancelled expansion deals.