The government has doubled down on its stance on the Adani deal just moments after the aviation workers called off their strike.
In a statement released on Wednesday evening, the state maintained a partnership with the Adani Group was necessary because of the growing traffic at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
“JKIA requires urgent expansion due to increasing passenger and cargo traffic, with current numbers exceeding its design capacity,” the statement read.
The government anticipates a surge in passengers and cargo at the JKIA in the next 30 years, but insists it is impossible to sustain plans to expand the airport without the intervention of a private investor.
An image of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport
Photo
Kenyans.co.ke
Kenya’s main airport handles an estimated 8.6 million travellers annually, which is more than its 7.9 million capacity. The government anticipates the figures could explode in the coming years.
The proposed expansion is estimated to cost over KSh 260 billion – a figure that the Kenya Kwanza government insists is impossible to fund alone, especially after the controversial Finance Bill was tossed out.
Earlier, government spokesperson Isaac Mwaura sought to quell an online onslaught from irate Kenyans, saying the Adani deal was in its infancy stages.
For the better part of Wednesday, operations at the JKIA were at a standstill as workers downed their tools in protest of the proposed deal.
Part of the reason aviation workers resorted to industrial action was because of the government’s apparent ingenuity over the Adani deal.
It took the intervention of Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU) Secretary General Francis Atwoli Francis Atwoli, Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir and Kenya Aviation Workers Union Moss Ndiema, who collectively issued a list of demands to the government in the wake of the end of industrial action.
The COTU boss confirmed documents containing all the particulars of the controversial Adani deal had been made available to the union. He further requested at least 10 days to scrutinise the documents and flag out areas of concern.
Atwoli was also adamant no agreement should be entered between KAA and the government without the concurrence of KAWU.
Long queues witnessed at JKIA as KAA workers down tools.
Photo
Edwin Dande
