Ruto cancels Adani KETRACO, JKIA deals

By Peter Ochieng

President William Ruto has made a landmark announcement.

During the State of the Nation address in Parliament on Thursday afternoon, Ruto directed the agencies within the ministries of Transport and Energy and Petroleum to cancel the procurement process for the expansion of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), and the recently concluded KETRACO transmission line public Private Partnership deals.

Indian Group Adani had already bagged the KETRACO deal and was on course to land the JKIA expansion contract.

“Based on new information provided by investigative agencies and partner nations, that the procurement agencies within the ministry of Transport and Energy and Petroleum to immediately cancel the ongoing procurement process for the JKIA expansion Public Private Partnership transaction as well as the recently concluded KETRACO transition Public Private Partnership and immediately commence the process of onboarding alternative partners, because these are important projects,” he said.

The announcement attracted a thumbs up and a standing ovation from Senators and Members of Parliament present.

“Igwe, Igwe,” some of the legislatures were heard stating in unison.

"In the face of undisputed evidence or credible information on corruption, I will not hesitate to take action,” added the President.

Last month, Adani Group signed a Sh95.7 million deal with the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited, to operate and maintain transmission lines and substations for 30 years, in efforts to address persistent power blackouts across Kenya.

Some Kenya opposed the deal, but President Wiliam Ruto was among government figureheads who supported it.

However, he decided to cancel the deals after the United States government charged Gautam Adani, chair of the Adani Group for allegedly paying Sh30 billion in bribes to the Indian government to obtain solar energy supply contracts.

The company was also in line to land the Sh30 billion JKIA upgrade deal, despite opposition from Kenyans.

It had proposed a 30-year concession to manage JKIA, with the proposed infrastructure upgrade including the construction of a new terminal and a second runway by 2029.

In return, Adani would control JKIA for three decades and restrict the development of other major Kenyan airports without its approval.