Kenya taps development banks for airport expansion after ditching Adani deal
The East African nation, which is seeking new ways to finance infrastructure projects due to sharply rising debt, will also issue a securitised bond for 175-billion shillings (R23.98bn) locally and abroad next month for road construction, transport minister Davis Chirchir told reporters on Monday.
Chirchir said the government had "written" to development agencies "to basically tell them there's an opportunity to build the airport through the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, borrowing on its balance sheet".
The Japan International Cooperation Agency, China Exim, KFW, the European Investment Bank and the African Development Bank had been contacted, Chirchir said.
The airport expansion includes a second runway at the airport and a new terminal building. Chirchir said once the funds were secured, the government would then look for a contractor to carry out the work.
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Kenya has invited international development lenders to finance a $2bn (R35.41bn) expansion of its main airport in Nairobi nine months after it cancelled a deal with India's Adani Group after its founder was indicted in the US. The East African nation, which is seeking new ways to finance infrastructure projects due to sharply rising debt, will also issue a securitised bond for 175-billion shillings (R23.98bn) locally and abroad next month for road construction, transport minister Davis Chirchir told reporters on Monday. Chirchir said the government had "written" to development agencies "to basically tell them there's an opportunity to build the airport through the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, borrowing on its balance sheet". The Japan International Cooperation Agency, China Exim, KFW, the European Investment Bank and the African Development Bank had been contacted, Chirchir said. The airport expansion includes a second runway at the airport and a new terminal building. Chirchir said once the funds were secured, the government would then look for a contractor to carry out the work.
