INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image: Bloomberg5 min read Last Updated : Sep 28 2024 | 9:57 AM ISTBy David Herbling, P R Sanjai and Helen Nyambura
Billionaire Gautam
second-richest man, even as it bags a deal to construct high-voltage power transmission lines in the East African nation.Click here to
at the facility and criticism from opposition lawmakers has forced the government to defend the opaque circumstances surrounding the deal
to counter the reach of its rival China in resource-rich Africa
The Kenyan government last week submitted a written explanation to lawmakers of why the proposal was above board
Days earlier, a Kenyan high court temporarily froze the project, which would grant Adani Airports Holding Ltd
Commission and Law Society of Kenya, argued the proposed development would require investment of $1.85 billion, which Kenya could raise
He said the government was carrying out its due diligence after receiving the proposal at the start of March.
The minister denied knowledge
of other parties keen on Kenyan airports
from authorities.
Even as Senators decried the airport deal, a presidential adviser announced that the Kenya Electricity Transmission Co
recently awarded Adani Group and a unit of the African Development Bank a $1.3 billion public-private partnership concession to construct
high-voltage power lines.
Terms of the airport proposal include Adani taking an 18% equity stake in JKIA and winning an undertaking that no
competing airport will be built for 30 years, according to the court documents arguing against the deal, which included details of the
leaked Adani offer.
Adani would also be allocated land to build hotels and businesses to compliment the airport, as well as being granted
favorable tax treatment from the Kenyan government, according to the documents.
Adani, in its reply to the court case, said the application
contained numerous claims and allegations that were were untrue or unsubstantiated, without providing specific details.
Kenyans opposing
the deal argue the investment amount of $1.85 billion cited in the court application is too meager, and the concessions too deep, at a time
when neighboring nations are plowing billions of dollars into new projects as they jostle to dominate the lucrative market for regional
Aided by Qatar, Rwanda is also constructing a new airport for an estimated $2 billion.
Many critics have pointed to the scandals
Hindenburg Research raised questions over its accounting and audits
and that it was subject to and fully compliant with anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws in India and other countries.First Published: Sep
