Adani to invest in airports; eyes aggressive bids in next round

Adani Group plans to invest INR1 lakh crore in its airports business over the next five years, betting on sustained growth in India’s aviation sector, which is expected to expand at 15-16 per cent annually, a top group official said. 

“On the airport side, INR1-lakh crore in the next five years,” Jeet Adani, Director of Adani Airports and younger son of billionaire Gautam Adani, told PTI ahead of the start of commercial operations at Navi Mumbai International Airport on December 25. Navi Mumbai International Airport will become the latest addition to the Adani Group’s expanding airport portfolio, further strengthening its presence in India’s aviation infrastructure.

The airport, being developed by Navi Mumbai International Airport Ltd (NMIAL) in which the Adani Group holds a 74 per cent stake, is scheduled to commence commercial operations on December 25.

Built at an initial cost of INR19,650 crore, the first phase will have a capacity to handle 20 million passengers annually, with plans to scale up to 90 million passengers over time, easing capacity constraints at Mumbai’s existing airport and supporting long-term growth in the region’s air traffic. 

Adani group had acquired the Mumbai airport from GVK Group. Beside the two airports at Mumbai, Adani Group operates six other airports at Ahmedabad, Lucknow,  Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram, Jaipur and Mangaluru. This portfolio includes a mix of metro and regional airports, with the group also planning to bid aggressively for the next round of airport privatisations.  

“As a staunch believer, bullish believer in this industry, we would be 100 per cent very aggressive in the next round of bidding for all 11 (airports),” he said. 

On investments in the MRO and Flight Simulation Training Centre (FSTC) verticals, he said, “It’s a little early to say because we are still in the process of finalising a longer-term strategy and then putting a number to it.” 

However, he added, “at the end of the day, we are deep into it and we want to keep growing our expertise and our depth.”  Adani said India’s aviation sector — encompassing airports and airlines — could sustain mid-teens growth for the next decade or more.