Kenyan citizen Nelson Amenya, who gained national attention for exposing the Adani deal in 2024, has explained the difference between the current Chinese firm deal and the controversial Adani proposal.
In a statement posted on his official X account on Saturday, June 13, 2026, Amenya responded to a Kenyan who asked whether the new Chinese deal was better than the Adani arrangement.
No Ownership Transfer
Amenya said the new Chinese deal does not involve any transfer of ownership, unlike the Adani proposal.
He added that the controversy surrounding the JKIA concession never centered on private investment alone but on whether the agreement served the public interest.
“First, there is no transfer of ownership as was the case before. And the controversy around the JKIA concession was never simply that it involved a private investor. The concern was whether the terms served the public interest,” Amenya explained.
Amenya pointed out that JKIA would finance a significant portion of the project through its own revenues.
He questioned why authorities would grant a 30-year concession to a private operator if the airport could partly fund its own expansion.
“For instance, a significant portion of the project financing would come from JKIA’s own revenues (50%), raising a legitimate question: if the airport could partly finance its own expansion, why grant a 30-year concession to a private operator in the first place?” he posed.
Transparency and Value Concerns
Amenya also highlighted concerns about transparency, valuation, revenue-sharing arrangements, and operational experience.
He questioned whether Adani possessed enough experience to develop and manage an airport the size of JKIA.
“I also pointed to concerns over transparency, valuation, revenue-sharing arrangements, and whether Adani had sufficient experience in developing and operating airports of JKIA’s scale,” he stated.
“In other words, the debate was not about being anti-investment, but about whether Kenya was receiving fair value for a strategic national asset,” he added.
Amenya made the remarks days after reports emerged that Kenya awarded a Ksh375 billion contract for the expansion of JKIA to China Communications Construction Company.
Bloomberg reported that the project will draw funding from the proposed National Infrastructure Fund and commercial loans backed by securitised air passenger service charges.
The report also stated that authorities had awarded the contract to CCCC, although the Kenyan government had not issued a formal public announcement at the time of publication.
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