Ndii: UAE financiers, not Kenya, picked Adani for JKIA project
Ndii argued that Kenya’s strained fiscal position at the time made a conventional open bidding process impractical. He pointed out that in most Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangements, companies typically win the bid first, then seek funding.
David Ndii, Chair of President William Ruto’s Council of Economic Advisors (CEA), has clarified that the decision to involve Indian conglomerate Adani Group in the planned upgrade of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) was made by financiers from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), not the Kenyan government.
In a statement posted on X, Ndii said the UAE is funding the JKIA renovation and explained that the government had minimal influence over the choice of contractor.
Responding to public criticism over the absence of a competitive tendering process, Ndii stated, “We didn’t pick Adani. The financiers did. They’re shareholders. When China funds projects, their firms execute them and no one seems to object.”
In February 2025, Kenya secured a Sh193 billion loan from the UAE, with a portion allocated for the modernization of JKIA.
Ndii argued that Kenya’s strained fiscal position at the time made a conventional open bidding process impractical. He pointed out that in most Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangements, companies typically win the bid first, then seek funding.
But given Kenya’s poor credit rating and the looming risk of default, it was unlikely that any winning bidder could have raised the required capital at an affordable cost.
“If a firm wins the contract and then fails to raise funds, we’re back to square one,” Ndii cautioned. He said the government chose to secure financing first and accepted the contractor preferred by the financiers to avoid delays.
He also drew comparisons with Chinese-funded infrastructure projects, where Chinese firms are usually assigned the contracts, adding, “No one questions that, yet this is now being politicized.”
At the 2025 Executive Retreat held on June 21, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga expressed disappointment over the cancellation of the Adani deal. He said the project had the potential to enhance Nairobi’s status globally by turning JKIA into a major aviation hub in Africa.
Raila noted that plans to expand JKIA had originally been developed during his tenure in the Grand Coalition Government but stalled after the administration left office. He reiterated that upgrading JKIA is essential for Kenya’s ambitions in the aviation industry.
The Adani-led project, which was projected to cost several billion shillings, was shelved in 2024 following public backlash and concerns over lack of transparency.
