NEW DELHI: Kenya's aviation union is gearing up to organise a strike over the proposed deal to develop the country's main airport in Nairobi, with the help of India's Adani Airport holdings, Reuters reported.
The report said that the protest holds the risk of creating significant commotion at the Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), which is a key transit point for flyers.
The Kenya Aviation Workers Union were quoted as claiming the proposed deal to adversely impact the job market in Kenya by encouraging more non-Kenyans into the workspace. It also described it an "unlawful intended sale of JKIA to Adani Airport Holdings of India" in its seven-day strike notice issued on Monday.
The Kenyan government has said the airport is not for sale and that no agreement has been reached on what it has described as a proposed public-private partnership to upgrade the airport.
"We shall reconsider our intention to engage in industrial action ... only if the Adani Airport Holdings Limited's deal is abandoned in its entirety," Moss Ndiema, the union's secretary general was quoted by Reuters as saying.
"We are hopeful that a resolution can be reached through negotiation," spokesperson Elijah Miano said.
Adani's proposal is under review. If a deal is finalized, the government assured that safeguards would be implemented to protect Kenya's national interests, the statement added.
A nationwide youth-led protest movement that began in June in response to proposed tax increases has also voiced concerns about what it sees as a lack of transparency regarding the proposed Adani deal.
Last month, police prevented protesters from reaching JKI airport, which they intended to shut down.
The Kenyan government had said last month that JKIA, which serves more passengers than its 7.5 million capacity, urgently needs upgrades due to issues like leaking roofs that have led to "international embarrassment."
It was estimated that modernizing JKIA could cost $2 billion, a sum it struggles to fund given the current tight fiscal constraints.
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