National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has defended the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) deal between the government and India's Adani Group for upgrading Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), emphasizing the necessity of the project. Speaking at the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) exhibition, Mbadi highlighted that PPPs enable the government to complete large infrastructure projects without relying on taxpayer funds.
He explained that PPPs involve private sector collaboration to develop critical infrastructure, not selling public assets. "We must explore alternative financing, and PPP is one way to do that. It’s about concessioning projects to private developers who work with the government to ensure competitive infrastructure," he said.
Mbadi pointed to the deteriorating state of JKIA, East Africa's busiest airport, which needs urgent upgrades to maintain its competitiveness. He stressed that Kenya cannot afford to fall behind neighboring countries like Rwanda and Ethiopia, which have significantly improved their airports.
Although the public has raised concerns about the transparency of the Ksh. 238 billion deal, which would allow Adani to operate JKIA for 30 years, Mbadi assured that the agreement is still under audit and no final contract has been signed. He urged Kenyans to support PPP projects to improve national infrastructure.
