Adani Group announces ₹1 lakh crore investment in airport business

Adani bets big on aviation, plans ₹1 lakh crore airport investment

December 19, 2025

India’s aviation growth runway remains long-term

The Adani Group plans to invest ₹1 lakh crore in its airports business over the next five years, betting on sustained long-term growth in India’s aviation sector, which is expected to expand at a steady 15–16 per cent annually, a senior group executive said.

Speaking to PTI ahead of the start of commercial operations at the Navi Mumbai International Airport, Jeet Adani, Director of Adani Airports and younger son of billionaire Gautam Adani, said the group remains bullish on India’s aviation growth story.

“On the airport side, ₹1 lakh crore in the next five years,” Jeet Adani said, adding that the investment would support capacity expansion, new infrastructure and future acquisitions.

Navi Mumbai airport to begin operations on December 25

Navi Mumbai International Airport, the latest addition to the Adani Group’s expanding airport portfolio, is scheduled to commence commercial operations on December 25.

The airport is being developed by Navi Mumbai International Airport Ltd (NMIAL), in which the Adani Group holds a 74 per cent stake. Built at an initial cost of ₹19,650 crore, the first phase will have the capacity to handle 20 million passengers annually, with plans to eventually scale up to 90 million passengers.

The new airport is expected to ease congestion at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, which has faced capacity constraints since 2016.

“With the start of Navi Mumbai Airport, we will finally see some relaxation there,” Adani said.

Aggressive bidding planned for next airport privatisation round

The Adani Group currently operates eight airports across India — two in Mumbai and others in Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram, Jaipur and Mangaluru. It acquired Mumbai airport from the GVK Group in 2021.

Jeet Adani said the group would bid aggressively in the upcoming round of airport privatisations.

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

The Civil Aviation Ministry has identified 11 airports for operations under the public-private partnership model, while the National Monetisation Pipeline envisages leasing 25 Airports Authority of India-run airports between 2022 and 2025.

India’s aviation sector to grow at mid-teens rate

Adani said India’s aviation sector — including airports and airlines — has the potential to grow at a mid-teens rate for at least the next decade, driven by low per-capita air travel compared to global peers such as China.

“The Indian aviation industry as a whole can continuously grow at 15–16 per cent year-on-year for the next 10–15 years,” he said, describing the growth runway as long-term and structurally strong.

Calling the commissioning of Navi Mumbai airport a landmark moment, Adani said it represents both scale and future expansion potential.

“In terms of Indian aviation, this is an extremely important moment. We are seeing an asset of this size coming online, and there is still four times growth left to do,” he said.

Focus on ancillary services and aircraft services

Adani Airport Holdings Ltd (AAHL), the group’s airport arm, is India’s largest airport infrastructure operator, accounting for about 23 per cent of passenger traffic and nearly 33 per cent of cargo movement nationwide.

Alongside infrastructure expansion, AAHL is scaling up non-aeronautical businesses such as retail, city-side development and aircraft services.

“We have separated the two businesses. One is airport infrastructure and the other is aircraft services, including defence and civilian use,” Adani said.

On investments in MRO and Flight Simulation Training Centre (FSTC) segments, he said discussions are ongoing and long-term strategy is still being finalised.

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