Chivayo who? State distances from Zimbabwe businessman on JKIA deal

The government has denied claims that Zimbabwean businessman Wicknell Chivayo is involved in the planned upgrade of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).

Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir told journalists Thursday that neither Chivayo nor his company, IMC Construction, was among the bidders for the airport's expansion and modernisation.

The explanation comes amid growing pressure from civil society, lawyers and MPs that the government comes clean on details regarding the procurement, with one lobby filing a case to challenge the process on Wednesday.

CS Chirchir, however, dismissed any talk of the Zimbabwean's involvement.

“We don't know this gentleman. I saw him for the first time in the media myself. He's not in any of our documentations, be it as a bidder or as a partner to any of the bidders. He's not participating in any of our bids solely or as a partner to any of the bidders,” the CS said.

Transport CS Davis Chirchir jkia — JKIA: CS Chirchir says no deal with Zim businessman

The CS said only two companies bid to implement the JKIA expansion project after majority of the 40 firms that initially expressed interest were knocked out during a pre-bid conference early this year.

The two firms are Chinese: China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) and Sinohydro — both of which have been running major infrastructure projects in Kenya's transport and energy sectors.

The Ministry said the evaluation process for the tender is still ongoing and is expected to conclude next week, indicating that no contract has been awarded and that details of the procurement process will be clear after a report from the evaluation committee is presented.

Upgrade cost - 'nothing above Sh154bn'

The CS said the project is not expected to cost more than Sh154.2 billion, praising it as being about 20 percent cheaper compared to other airports recently built on the continent.

The pricing assumes that it will cost about $3,900 (about Sh504,777) to construct a square metre, which the ministry praises as lower compared to an average $4,500 (about Sh582,435) in other airports.

“The government does not anticipate the contract award to exceed 154.2 billion and I say this because we are yet to finalise the details. There's no contract which has been signed,” CS Chirchir said.

He appeared for the media briefing flagged by his Aviation and Aerospace Development Principal Secretary Teresiah Mbaika and Kenya Airports Authority Managing Director Moses Wekesa.