Aviation industry wants say in JKIA upgrade after Adani cancellation

Aviation sector players now want more say in the modernisation of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) following the collapse of the planned deal with Adani Airports Holdings.

The government is set to restart the plan of modernising the country’s main aviation hub after President William Ruto ordered the Transport Ministry to cancel any engagements that it had with Adani Airports.

This after public outcry as well as the indictment of the firm in the US, where authorities claimed that the firm’s founder Gautam Adani together with other seven defendants had agreed to pay Sh34.2 billion ($263 million) as bribes to Indian government officials. 

The Kenya Association of Air Operators (KAAO) said that while the airport needed a major upgrade, it added that such a process should involve all stakeholders. The government, KAAO said, should further stay away from single-sourcing companies to undertake such an upgrade. 

KAAO noted that the privately initiated proposal that Adani had presented to the Kenya Airports Authority in March for the concession of JKIA for 30 years posed significant challenges to transparency, inclusivity, and the strategic future of JKIA and that the stakes were too high for a one bidder process. 

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“While the need for urgent investment in JKIA remains undeniable, and its role as a regional hub is of critical importance to the Kenyan economy, the pathway to infrastructure modernisation must be marked by an open competitive bidding process and adequate stakeholder consultation throughout the process,” said KAAO in a statement Wednesday.

“This should be guided by a comprehensive feasibility study involving all stakeholders as the business case, that prioritises critical infrastructure upgrades, including a second runway, ambition in terms of terminal capacity and associated facilities, while aligning with the broader goals of the approved National Aviation Policy.”

It added that the government should also consider global good practices for concessioning airports including the International Air Transport Association’s guide titled, ‘Balanced concession for the airport industry’. Separately, Mwenda Mabura a pilot and aeronautical engineer also emphasised the need for the upgrade for JKIA, particularly noting that Kenya Airways need its own terminal at JKIA as well as a bigger cargo centre.

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The airport, he added, also needed a second runway and a county cargo centre to ease the export of produce from different parts of the country as well as upgrades in the navigation and communication systems.

Mabura, who was responding to a call for the public to submit views on the national aviation policy by the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Transport and Infrastructure, said that there is adequate capacity locally to undertake the necessary upgrades on JKIA including raising funds through diaspora infrastructure bonds.