Adani Group plans $15bn airport expansion over five years: Report

Adani Group plans to invest $15 billion to increase the annual passenger capacity of its airports to 200 million over the next five years. The move is also aimed at supporting India’s growing air travel demand as the country prepares to list its airport units.

According to a Bloomberg report, the investment will help the group handle about two-thirds of the expected increase in passenger numbers, which are forecast to more than double to 300 million by 2030. The expansion includes improvements at several airports, such as the addition of terminals, taxiways and a new runway at the Navi Mumbai airport, set to open on December 25.

Capacity will also be increased at Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Thiruvananthapuram, Lucknow and Guwahati airports. About 70 percent of the expansion’s financing is expected to come from debt raised over five years and the rest from equity.

The planned upgrades will increase the total passenger capacity by more than 60% without additional capacity at Navi Mumbai and Guwahati airports. These six airports were leased out in the 2020 privatization phase and were previously managed by the Airports Authority of India.

This expansion is also in line with the Indian government’s broader strategy to privatize airport operations and modernize infrastructure. There are now 11 more airports in the privatization program, combining loss-making and profitable airports. Adani Airport Holdings and GMR Airports are expected to be key bidders in this process.

India is also developing a second airport in Delhi to meet growing demand and aims to increase the total number of airports to 400 by 2047 from the current 160, reflecting significant growth in the aviation industry.