Sunday, October 13, 20214 –Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has defended the multimillion public-private partnerships involving Adani-Kenya deal.
Raila mentioned this during a press briefing in Nairobi, describing the deal as essential for tackling Kenya’s pressing economic challenges and ensuring successful infrastructure projects.
This comes amid growing skepticism among Kenyans regarding the involvement of Indian conglomerate Adani Group in key projects, particularly following protests against their proposed management of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and aims to oversee all major airports in Kenya under a proposed public-private partnership.
The current deal involves a 30-year lease for Jomo Kenyatta International Airport JKIA, where Adani plans to invest approximately $1.85 billion for upgrades and renovations.
“Under the circumstances, the most reliable an tested means to which we can address this is through Pubic-Private partnerships PPP which is the route preferred by many countries facing similar challenges to Kenya.
“I am aware that,for several years now, JKIA and energy sector have been in need of overhaul and upgrade bringing to par the new efforts being developed by our neighboring countries,” Raila announced.
Adani Group has also secured a deal with the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco) to build and operate electricity transmission lines worth approximately Ksh 95.68 billion (around $736 million) for 30 years.
In his address, The ODM Party leader also called for the full execution of the NADCO report and the restructuring of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission IEBC.