Kenya has granted a public-private partnership (PPP) concession to India’s Adani Group and Africa50, a unit of the African Development Bank, to build power transmission lines, according to David Ndii, the chief economic advisor to President William Ruto.
The $1.3 billion concession will be managed by Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO), as stated by Ndii in a post on X. He highlighted that the project, which is set to enhance Kenya’s power infrastructure, will not require borrowing.
“The government through KETRACO has awarded PPP concessions to Adani and Africa50 to build new transmission lines,” Ndii wrote. “They are hiring their project teams. The cost of these transmission lines is $1.3 billion that we do not have to borrow.”
Africa50 is a development-focused infrastructure investment platform associated with the African Development Bank. Neither Adani Group nor the African Development Bank immediately responded to Reuters’ request for comment outside of regular business hours.
This development comes amid controversy surrounding another Kenyan government initiative involving the Adani Group. The proposal to lease Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to Adani for 30 years in exchange for $1.85 billion in investment has faced backlash from Kenyan citizens and led to a strike by aviation workers.
Adani Group, which operates seven airports in India, has been criticized by Indian opposition parties for allegedly receiving preferential treatment from ruling governments, although these claims have been denied by Indian officials and the Adani Group.
Kenya’s government is grappling with substantial debt from extensive infrastructure investments. Recent efforts to increase taxes to manage debt repayments triggered severe protests earlier this summer, forcing the government to retract the tax hike proposal.
