The controversial takeover of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) continues to generate criticism.
The deal, which was secretly initiated by the President William Ruto’s government and the Adani Group, and later leaked to the public will see the Indian firm takeover the JKIA for a period of three decades!
However, aviation workers, entrepreneurs and experts have lamented that Kenya is being short-changed in the deal, and could reap better returns through competitive bidding.
One of these is Mohamed Hersi, a respected Kenyan hotelier and tourism expert. Mr. Hersi pitches that Kenya should be targeting globally respected aviation players such as the Emirates Group in a deal that would benefit both Kenya Airways and the JKIA airport. Here is what Mr. Hersi says;
If President William Ruto wants a serious strategic investor for our national carrier Kenya Airways and a partner for JKIA, then he should be talking to Emirates Group to have JKIA and KQ partner with Emirates Airways.
The president is on a first name basis with the ruler of Dubai. The Adanis who are keen to use JKIA land as collateral are just waste of time.
If the president wishes to leave a legacy, a strong legacy, then he should learn to partner and walk with giants who are globally respected.
Rwanda has partnered with Qatar Airways while Ethiopia is firing on all pistons with the Chinese Exim Bank.
If we are to catch up with them then we need a serious strategic investor. Emirates will love Nairobi as their base in Africa and they will support KQ who are already flying to 39 cities across Africa.
Hersi: Stop treating JKIA like a rathole. It’s not desperate for Adani’s nonstarter deal
Why would Emirates find KQ a good partner? KQ can exploit the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) to the fullest since Emirates cannot exploit SAATM.
SAATM is a project designed for African airlines, where the freedom to fly to more cities in a country is allowed, and even better, combination of cities in two different countries such as Najrobi – Livingstone – Cape Town or Nairobi – Accra – Dakar.
