New Delhi: The Adani Group is planning a $15 billion investment to enhance passenger capacity at its airports to 200 million annually over the next five years, sources familiar with the matter said. The move aims to support India’s growing aviation sector and strengthen the company’s position ahead of a planned public listing for its airports unit.
The expansion includes new terminals, taxiways, and a runway at the Navi Mumbai airport, scheduled to open on December 25. Capacity upgrades are also planned at Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Thiruvananthapuram, Lucknow, and Guwahati airports. About 70% of the funding will come from debt over five years, with the remainder raised through equity.
India’s air traffic is projected to more than double to 300 million passengers annually by 2030, and the Adani expansion, boosting overall capacity by more than 60%, will position the company as a key player in accommodating this growth. The plan excludes the 20 million capacity at Navi Mumbai and 11 million at Guwahati, opening this month.
The upgrades target six airports leased by Adani during India’s second privatization phase in 2020, previously managed by the state-run Airports Authority of India. India plans to privatize 11 more airports, combining less profitable facilities with successful ones. Adani Airport Holdings, India’s largest operator by number of airports, along with GMR Airports, the largest by passenger traffic, are expected to lead the bidding.
India is also developing a second airport in Delhi and aims to expand to 400 airports nationwide by 2047, up from 160 at present.
