According to court documents, a Kenyan High Court has temporarily halted a planned agreement for Adani Group to take a 30-year lease of Kenya’s main airport in exchange for its expansion.
The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) and the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) jointly informed the court that Kenya could independently raise the $1.85 billion needed to upgrade Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
LSK and KHRC argued that the proposed 30-year lease of JKIA by the Adani Group, owned by Asia’s second-richest person, Gautam Adani, was unaffordable, could cause job losses, posed fiscal risks, and did not provide value for the taxpayers, as per court documents released by KHRC on their website.
Odhiambo stated that the court had issued a stay to prevent individuals from implementing or acting on the privately proposed Adani plan for JKIA until the court case is concluded.
A spokesperson for the Kenya Airports Authority declined to comment on the legal matters.
Previously, the Kenya Aviation Workers Union had called for a strike against the proposed deal, expressing concerns about potential job losses and the employment of non-Kenyan workers.
The Kenyan government stated that the airport requires modernisation as it operates beyond capacity. Still, it clarified that the airport is not up for sale, and no decision has been made regarding the proposed public-private partnership for its upgrade.
The government announced in July that Adani’s offer was under review and assured that any agreement would include measures to protect Kenya’s national interests.