The Maharashtra Government on Wednesday approved a change in ownership of the company from M/s GVK Airport Developers Developers Limited to M/s Adani Airport Holdings Ltd (AAHL) to develop and operate the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) in the adjoining Thane-Raigad region.
At its weekly meeting, the State Cabinet – presided over by chief minister Uddhav Thackeray—gave a go ahead to AAHL to be the new concessionaire for the prestigious greenfield airport being developed as a public-private partnership (PPP) project.
Earlier, the airport was to be developed by GVK which was running the Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL). However, the MIAL was taken over last year by AAHL and the same was approved by the Directorate of Civil Aviation, Airports Authority of India, SEBI, CCI and finally the CIDCO, which is overseeing the mega-project.
With the state government's approval, the Gautam Adani-headed AAHL becomes the biggest private airport operator running several major airports like Mumbai, Navi Mumbai (proposed), Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Lucknow, besides three more likely in the near future. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprises Ltd. (AEHL), the AAHL now has a majority stake in the new airport, with 26 percent belonging to the AAI.
Being developed on 1,160 hectares of land, Mumbai International Airport is expected to become operational in 2023-2024. When opened, it will become the country’s leading airport over the next decade for both domestic and international flights.