Nairobi airport takeover deal probe hits snag

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - A Kenyan Parliamentary committee probing the circumstances under which national airline, Kenya Airways, plans to take over the management of Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) hit a snag on Tuesday when key officials behind the proposal failed to table relevant documents.

Transport Ministry Principal Secretary, Esther Koimet and Kenya Airways Chief Executive Sebastian Makosz, were summoned to appear before the National Assembly Transport Committee to shed light on the airline's plans to take over the operations of the airport.

But when the two appeared before the House Committee, Ms Koimet said that she did not have the Privately Initiated Investment Proposal (PIIP).

In the absence of the proposal, the committee ruled that it could not continue with the sitting, since those documents were crucial.

Kenya Airways is a public-private partnership in which the government is the principal shareholder (48.9 percent). 38.1 percent is owned by Kenya Airways Lenders Company Limited owned by a consortium of banks, while Dutch airline, KLM, owns 7.8 percent.

The Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and other airports in the country are managed and operated by the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA), a state agency.

Kenyans are smelling a rat in the proposal, wondering why a mainly private entity wants to run Kenya's biggest airport on behalf of the government in a situation where the state airport authority is doing a good job.

In the proposed deal, the management and the ownership of JKIA will fall under a private company owned by Kenya Airways.

In the proposed deal, the company will operate the airport for 30 years.

-0- PANA DJ/MA 26Feb2019