President William Ruto has brushed off reports that the government intends to sell the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to a private investor. 

According to Ruto, Kenya is only working on a Public-private Partnership (PPP) to upgrade the facility to give the airport a new look. 

“The airport we have in Nairobi is made of canvas in the arrivals. This is a temporary structure we put up almost 7 years ago. Ethiopia, Rwanda have a brand-new airport. It is the reason why we need to work with investors to give us a new airport,” Ruto said. 

The Head of State, during a Townhall conversation in Mombasa on Sunday, argued that a PPP programme will be the right approach to improving the airport, as it allows foreign and local investment into the project. 

“Am I a mad man? How do you sell a strategic national asset? You have to be insane. We must have the right investment for the airport. What we want to do is to work under the PPP programme,” he said. 

Ruto’s statement follows public outrage over plans to have a private investor, Adani Airports Holding Limited, inject a Ksh.242 billion investment to expand JKIA. 

Last week, the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) confirmed receiving Adani’s proposal to upgrade Kenya’s main airport over the next 30 years, under the Cabinet-ratified JKIA Medium Term Investment Plan.

The Indian firm’s scheme, which will be carried out in a public-private partnership arrangement, comprises improvements to JKIA’s passenger terminal and building a new one, constructing a second runway, as well as improvements to the taxiway and apron.

The deal has sparked heavy scrutiny from civil society groups and some legislators over fears that the state seeks to ‘sell’ JKIA.