Adani to invest $7 billion more in airports business over 10 years

Adani Group plans to invest ₹60,000 crore ($7.26 billion) over the next ten years in its airports business in addition to ₹18,000 crore ($2.18 billion) it has invested in the construction of the first phase of Navi Mumbai airport.

Adani Airport Holdings Ltd currently operates seven airports—Lucknow, Ahmedabad Jaipur, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram, Mumbai, and Mangalore—in the country and is building one in Navi Mumbai. 

Of the overall $7.26 billion, about half, or $3.63 billion, will be spent on enhancing airport terminal and airside facilities in the next five years. These investments will increase the current annual passenger handling capacity of 100-110 million to 250-300 million. 

Additionally, the group will invest ₹30,000 crore ($3.63 billion) in developments near the eight airports over 10 years, including hotels, multiplexes, and other facilities. 

“We are building a new terminal in Guwahati. We have a plan to build a new terminal in Ahmedabad. Early next year, the Navi Mumbai airport will start and will have a capacity of 20 million passengers per year,” Arun Bansal, CEO of Adani Airport Holding, said after the inauguration of a newly integrated terminal at Lucknow airport. 

Bansal said the company anticipates a rise in the number of flyers as several airlines have placed orders to up their fleet.

“Fleet orders placed by airlines indicate that 700 planes that are in the Indian civil aviation fleet will rise to 3,000 by 2030,” he said. 

“Only around 300 million Indians out of a 1.4 billion population are flying today,” Bansal said, adding, “This 300 million is going to become a billion plus passengers soon.” 

Karan Adani, managing director of Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd, said the group plans to turn the airports at Ahmedabad and Lucknow into aviation hubs with direct connectivity to Europe and the US. 

“I think the mode of air connectivity where international travel is primarily happening through the metro hubs will fundamentally change,” Adani said.

“We see these airports becoming major international hubs in the future where international travel will increase exponentially,” he added.