Adani Airports zeroes in on first foreign investment but Nairobi deal is far from certain

Many must have wondered if, and when, Adani Airports, which has become arguably the leading private sector operator in India (with eight airports and another under construction near Mumbai), would enter the world of international airport investment and management.

There are plenty of opportunities in India, and there will be more as a fresh round of concessions is planned and many more airports will be built or recommissioned.

But other domestic and foreign operators know that too, and the competition could be intense. The temptation is to look outwards, not inwards.

The reported attempt by Adani to become the private sector partner in the modernisation of a Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta Airport that is falling apart may be turn out merely to be an example of seizing the main chance as it is offered. Someone needs to do it, and Kenya Airports Authority doesn't exactly have a bulging wallet.

Or it may be the harbinger of how business will be done in the future on the continent - rapidly concluded deals without public scrutiny that turn out to be grossly expensive in the long run, but which get done a job which otherwise wouldn't be.