Kenya scraps $2b Adani deal
News Desk :
Kenyan President William Ruto announced on Thursday that he had ordered the cancellation of a procurement process aimed at awarding control of the country’s main airport to India’s Adani Group after the group’s founder was indicted in the United States.
Under the nearly $2 billion deal, Adani Group was set to add a second runway at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and upgrade the passenger terminal in exchange for a 30-year lease. Ruto also confirmed the cancellation of a separate $736-million, 30-year public-private partnership with an Adani Group firm to construct power transmission lines, which was signed last month with the energy ministry.
“I have directed agencies within the ministry of transport and the ministry of energy and petroleum to immediately cancel the ongoing procurement,” Ruto stated in his state of the nation address, citing “new information provided by investigative agencies and partner nations” as the reason behind the decision.
The announcement was met with applause and cheers from lawmakers during the address. The deals had faced sharp criticism from politicians and the public over concerns regarding transparency and value for money.
Representatives from the Adani Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Wednesday, US authorities indicted Adani Group founder Gautam Adani, along with seven others, accusing them of agreeing to pay $265 million in bribes to Indian government officials.
The Adani Group has denied the allegations and stated that it would seek “all possible legal recourse.”
The airport deal, proposed in March, bypassed competitive bidding procedures and did not become public until a leak in July.
In September, a Kenyan court temporarily blocked the deal following a lawsuit that argued it failed to offer taxpayers value for money.
Despite allegations from US short-seller Hindenburg Research in 2023 about improper governance practices at Adani Group, Kenyan officials, including Ruto, had previously defended the deals.
As late as Thursday morning, Energy Minister Opiyo Wandayi told senators he expected the transmission lines contract to proceed, insisting there was no bribery or corruption involved.
Kenyan lawyer George Kamau, specialising in public procurement, suggested that the Adani Group might challenge the cancellations through arbitration, particularly in the case of the transmission lines contract. However, he noted that any dispute resolution would likely favour the state, as the cancellation was based on integrity concerns.
