Adani Airport Holdings Limited Claims Payment of Ksh. 6.47M to Kenyan Government for JKIA Takeover Proposal
Adani Airport Holdings Limited has disclosed that it paid a $50,000 (approximately Ksh. 6.47 million) review fee to the Kenyan government as part of its $1.85 billion (Ksh. 242 billion) proposal to take over and revamp Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi.
According to new court filings, the Indian infrastructure firm, owned by the Adani Group, stated that the fee was deposited into the Public Private Partnerships (PPP) Facilitation Fund along with the necessary documents for its privately initiated proposal (PIP) submitted to the Kenyan government.
“Upon submission of the PIP, the 5th respondent (Adani Airport Holdings Limited) duly paid a review fee of USD 50,000 to the Public Private Partnership Facilitation Fund as required by law,” the company confirmed through its legal representatives.
Adani Claims Compliance with Submission Requirements for JKIA Takeover in Legal Response to Opposition
Adani Airport Holdings Limited has stated that it submitted all necessary pre-approval documents, including incorporation, corporate, tax compliance, and financial records, to facilitate due diligence by the Public Private Partnership (PPP) Directorate and the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA). This was part of their proposal to take over and upgrade Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
In a replying affidavit filed on Tuesday, September 17, Adani responded to a lawsuit filed by the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) and the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), who sought to block the deal. The legal challenge, lodged on September 9, raised concerns over the transparency and implications of the proposal.
Adani revealed that on March 18, the Kenya Airports Authority acknowledged receipt of their Privately Initiated Proposal (PIP) and cleared the project to move to the feasibility study phase. As part of the process, the company presented a feasibility study that addressed the environmental and social impacts of the project, a financial plan, and how the Kenyan public would benefit from the proposal.
The feasibility report also included a preliminary operational plan, confirming the project’s alignment with national infrastructure priorities and its potential to address the ongoing infrastructure issues at JKIA, as detailed in the court filings.
The Indian company holds that the project is still at the review and due-diligence stage, dismissing statements by KHRC and LSK that JKIA has already been leased for 30 years as a misrepresentation of facts.
LSK and KHRC argue in their submissions Kenya’s busiest airport was leased to a foreign private entity without adequate consultation or transparency.
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