The Adani Group has said that the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) is an airport with poor infrastructure that needs an urgent improvement by Adani.

In response to court cases that have been lodged at the High Court against the leasing for up to 30 years of Kenya’s national airport to the India conglomerate, Adani says that JKIA can only compete globally with infrastructure improvements that it has proposed.

The company further claims that it launched its so-called privately initiated proposal for the JKIA after media reports on poor infrastructure at the airport.

Adani was referencing to shocking reports of leaking roofs and power blackouts at the airport that occurred a few months ago and which were repaired after sustained public pressure on the government.

“In the proposal, the Adani Airports Holdings detailed analysis of the project delivery plan, a justification for using the privately initiated proposal (PIP) method, the value for money and affordability of the project, the positive impact of the proposed PIP method and also disclosed all the financial implications of the project,” Adani says in response to a petition that has been filed against its proposal at the High Court.

The petition has been filed by the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) and the Law Society of Kenya (LSK). Adani is being represented by the Hamilton, Harrison and Mathews law firm.

In its response, Adani says that the case against the controversial takeover of the JKIA should not be heard by the High Court. Adani says the case should be handled by the Public Private Partnership Petition Committee.

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“The KHRC and LSK have failed to exhaust the dispute resolution mechanism in the law and therefore, this court lacks jurisdiction to hear and determine this matter,” says Adani.