Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir has stated that other airports and airstrips in the country are not part of the Adani Privately Initiated Proposal (PIP).
Appearing before the senate committee on roads on Friday, September 13, 2024, Chirchir told the senators that the Adani PIP is only confined to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
Chirchir further clarified that the Adani deal is confined to a dedicated area of aeronautical and commercial development at JKIA.
“The Adani PIP is only confined to JKIA. Within JKIA, the proposed concession is further confined to a dedicated area of aeronautical and commercial development as described in number eight above,” Chichir stated.
Public participation
The former Energy and Petroleum CS was also pressured to clarify whether public participation was carried out, with the senators demanding to know at what stage it would be undertaken if it was not.
In response, Chirchir said that they have since commenced public participation where they have met with stakeholders, arguing that public participation only happens after the visibility stage.
The stakeholders, according to Chirchir, include Kenya Airport Authority (KAA) senior management, section heads, over 500 members of staff, airline operators under the Kenya Association of Airline Operators, ground handlers, retailers, Kenya Civil Aviation (KCA), and Kenya Airways (KQ).
“Public participation happens after the visibility stage. One of the documents that you submit to the PPP committee is the stakeholder engagement plan. We have therefore commenced public participation, including engagement with Kenya Airports Authority senior management, which we met on one Monday morning, and KAA section heads.
“We have met over 500 members of staff in a town hall meeting where they demanded documents, and that is why we were able to call off the strike within one day. We have also done stakeholder engagement with airline operators under the Kenya Association of Airline Operators,” Chirchir said.
Adani’s other interests
On Thursday, September 12, 2024, during the Senate committee grilling session of CS Chirchir, Kisii County Senator Richard Onyonka claimed that apart from the controversial JKIA deal, Adani has other proposals in the energy and health sectors.
“Adani has been given contractual arrangements for them to supply power in Kenya through KETRACO, and they are intending to take over KenGen, and they will be the ones running the insurance system for our healthcare SHIF,” Onyonka claimed.
This forced Chirchir to shed light on the Indian multinational conglomerate Adani Group’s proposal to invest in Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO).
Speaking during a live interview with a local TV station, Chirchir disclosed that Adani presented a proposal to KETRACO that could see it take over a few power lines.
He further stated that, in the proposal, Adani showed interest in operating the Gilgil-Thika-Malala electricity line under KETRACO.
However, Chirchir noted that there are hundreds of such Public-Private-Proposals (PPPs) within various areas of the energy sector, including generation and transmission.
