Kenya picks Chinese bidder for key airport deal at 50 per cent markup over shelved Adani offer

New Delhi, June 11 (IANS) Two years ago, Kenya walked away from an ambitious airport deal with India’s Adani Group amid protests, strikes, and a storm of political backlash. Today, the East African nation has signed on the dotted line — this time with a Chinese state-backed giant — for a much larger, nearly $3 billion overhaul of its busiest airport.

At first glance, the optics are stark: a shelved proposal valued at under $2 billion replaced by a deal nearly 50 per cent more expensive. But behind the headline numbers lies a more complex story of conspiracy, politics, and shifting strategy.

The 2024 Adani airport proposal promised to transform the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) through a long-term concession. The Indian conglomerate would finance, upgrade, and operate the airport for decades. However, it was called off by the Kenyan government the same year amid uproar by aviation workers and civil society groups who raised an alarm over transparency and national sovereignty.

Self-proclaimed whistle-blower Nelson Amenya, a France-based Kenyan, and Indian politician Jairam Ramesh had then run a targeted campaign maligning the project’s intention with an anti-Adani narrative, forcing the government to call off talks.

The idea of handing a strategic national asset to a foreign private operator became a lightning rod, and the Kenyan government relented under pressure.

Two years hence, the same project has gone to China Communications Construction Co. for a 50 per cent premium. One can’t help but ask about the justification for the higher price tag. Time, as always, comes at a price. However, between the cancellation of the Adani deal and today’s agreement, has modest inflation combined with higher borrowing costs pushed the project cost to that extent?

–IANS

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