A Kenyan court has put the $736 million Adani power line deal on hold

On Friday, Kenya’s high court put an end to a $736 million deal between a state utility and Adani Energy Solutions of India to build and run power assets, such as transmission lines.

It was signed earlier this month that the state-owned Kenya Electrical Transmission Company (KETRACO) and Adani Energy Solutions (ADAI.NS) would work together as a public-private partnership.

The energy minister said on October 11 that it would help bring an end to frequent power outages and boost economic growth.

The high court said that the 30-year deal with Adani Energy Solutions could not go through until the court decided on a case made by the Law Society of Kenya that was against the deal.

A group of lawyers has said that the power deal is “a constitutional sham” and “tainted with secrecy.”

The law society also said that KETRACO and Adani Energy Solutions did not involve the public in the project in a useful way, which is required by Kenya’s Public Private Partnerships Act of 2021, which lets the private sector build public projects.

The energy minister had said before that it had held a bidding process.

A representative for Adani Group did not reply right away to a request for comment.

Kenyans are angry about the Adani Group’s latest plan for a public-private partnership to lease the country’s main airport for 30 years in exchange for growing it. The Adani Group was started by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani.

The Kenya Human Rights Commission and the Law Society of Kenya have also taken the planned airport deal to court, saying it is too expensive, could cost jobs, and is not worth the money.

One dollar is equal to 128.5000 Kenyan shillings.