Kenya has granted a public-private partnership concession to construct power transmission lines to India's Adani Group and a subsidiary of the African Development Bank, according to an economic advisor to the country's president. The concession, valued at $1.3 billion, was disclosed by David Ndii, the chief economic adviser to President William Ruto, in a post on X. "The government, through KETRACO, has awarded PPP concessions to Adani and Africa50 to build new transmission lines," Ndii wrote. "They are assembling their project teams. The cost of these transmission lines is $1.3 billion, which we do not need to borrow." Africa50 is an infrastructure investment arm of the African Development Bank. Adani Group and the African Development Bank did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside regular business hours.
A separate plan by the Kenyan government to lease the country's main international airport to the Adani Group has ignited anger among Kenyans and prompted a strike by the country's aviation workers. The plan involves leasing Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to the Adani Group for 30 years, in return for $1.85 billion in investment by Adani into the airport's expansion. Adani's group operates seven airports in India and has frequently faced criticism from Indian opposition parties for allegedly receiving preferential treatment from ruling governments. Indian officials and the Adani group have denied these accusations.
Kenya is grappling with a high debt burden accumulated from years of infrastructure spending. A government proposal to increase taxes to generate additional funds needed for debt repayments sparked deadly protests this summer, forcing the government to withdraw the proposal.
