After Takeover From GVK Group, Adani Group to Manage Mumbai Airport

Adani Airport Holdings Ltd is the country’s largest airport operator.

Gautam Adani, chairman, Adani Group.

(Photo: PTI)

Adani Enterprises-owned Adani Airport Holdings Ltd (AAHL) took over the management of Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) from the GVK Group on Tuesday, 13 July.

The development came after approvals by the Centre as well as Maharashtra government. Maharashtra’s City and Industrial Development Corporation's (CIDCO) approval was also sought before the acquisition.

The board meeting with MIAL was held on 13 July.

"Our larger objective is to reinvent airports as ecosystems that drive local economic development and act as the nuclei, around which we can catalyse aviation-linked businesses. These include metropolitan developments that span entertainment facilities, e-commerce and logistics capabilities, aviation dependent industries, smart city developments, and other innovative business concepts."

Gautam Adani, Adani Group's chairman, as per Livemint

He further stated that the industrial firm's airport-expansion strategy aims at reducing the urban-rural divide in the country by converging India's Tier-1 cities with Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities via a hub-and-spoke model, Livemint reported.

After AAHL's takover of the the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) in Mumbai earlier this year, it became the country’s largest airport operator.

The construction of the Navi Mumbai International Airport is set to commence next month and the financial closure is likely to be completed in the following 90 days, Moneycontrol reported.

As per a statement, AAHL predicts its share of passenger traffic to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12% from 80 million in FY20 to 100 million in FY22, Livemint reported.

Adani Group has also won competitive bids to run the airports in Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Lucknow, Mangalore, and Thiruvananthapuram. It, however, plans to defer the takeover of the airports in Jaipur, Guwahati, and Thiruvananthapuram by six months to December as these assets have currently turned financially unviable due to the disruptions caused by the pandemic.

(With inputs from Livemint and Moneycontrol)