Adani in talks with KETRACO, says Chirchir

Transport CS Davis Chirchir. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir has confirmed that Adani Group is close to reaching a deal with the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO).

Speaking on Citizen TV on Thursday night, the Transport CS said the Indian conglomerate is negotiating to build electricity transmission lines.

He clarified that the proposal is still under review, undergoing twenty (20) stages of due diligence before a final decision is made.

"It could be one of the proposals, as we have many Public-Private Partnership (PPP) proposals in energy today. In generation alone, there are over 150 proposals from various companies," said Chirchir

He mentioned one specific project involving the Gilgil-Thika-Malaa line but said that it was just one of many and would go through the usual approval process.

Adani has recently stirred controversy over its proposal to run the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) for 30 years. Concerns about the company's growing involvement in Kenya emerged yesterday when Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka told a Senate committee that Adani was expanding into the energy sector.

"Besides the JKIA deal, Adani is also nearing a contractual agreement for a KETRACO transmission line project, all without public participation," Onyonka said.

Responding to concerns about the airport deal, Chirchir explained that the Adani proposal was at the 13th of 20 required stages for government approval. He also outlined the stages involved in approving a deal, noting that Privately Initiated Proposals (PIPs) do not require public advertisement.

"For privately initiated proposals, there's no need to advertise. An individual or company can propose a project where the government needs support. If the government deems the proposal viable, it goes through 20 stages of approval and can become a project," he explained.

Chirchir further revealed that the government received a proposal from Adani in March 2024 after seeking expressions of interest to develop an airport under the Privately Initiated Proposal model.

"It's no secret that we've long sought to build an airport in Kenya. But with a $2 billion investment and the current government debt, we cannot fund such projects ourselves."

The government is prioritising PPP projects to develop infrastructure, particularly in northern Kenya, where building transmission grids is costly, Chirchir added.

The CS, who previously served in the energy docket, denied any connection between the JKIA deal and the government-to-government (G2G) oil deal, saying the government is working with three companies-Saudi Arabia, Emirates National Oil Company, and Abu Dhabi-to address challenges posed by the weakened shilling.

"The G2G deal involved these companies helping the government during a difficult period when the shilling was under pressure due to tight monetary policies," he said.