The Adani Group had been long in the reckoning for the takeover of the Mumbai Airport, and a year ago, had started the transaction of acquiring the majority stake from GVK. Now, the transaction is complete, and the Adani Group has become the operator of the Mumbai Airport.

Adani Acquires Majority Control of Mumbai International Airport Limited

On July 13, 2021, the Adani Group took over the Mumbai International Airport Limited, the company that built and operates the Mumbai Airport, as well as is the winning bidder for the Navi Mumbai International Airport. The Adani Group, via Adani Airport Holdings Limited, had earlier on acquired the 23.5% stake held by two South African investors, and then, the 50.5% stake owned by the GVK Group. The rest 26% stake is held by the Airports Authority of India.

MIAL is India’s second busiest airport by both passenger and cargo traffic. With eight airports in its management and development portfolio, AAHL is now India’s largest airport infrastructure company, accounting for 25% airport footfalls. With the addition of MIAL, AAHL will now also control 33% of India’s air cargo traffic.

Adani Airports already operates the Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Mangaluru airports, and have the rights to operate the Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram airports as well for a period of 50 years. With Mumbai/Navi Mumbai Airport in their fold, they become the largest private airport operators in the country.

As per Adani Airports, they will start the construction work on the Navi Mumbai International Airport in a month or so, and complete the financial closure for the project within 90 days. The GVK Group had recently unveiled the look and plans for the new airport. Adani expects to commission the airport in 2024.

At 12% CAGR, AAHL expects its share of passenger traffic to grow from 80 million in FY 20 to 100 million in FY 22. With management control of Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL), AAHL is poised to join the league of the world’s leading airport operators that cater to 100 Mn+ passengers and 200 Mn non-fliers in a year, presenting a massive 300 Mn+ strong consumer platform.

Bottomline

I won’t be surprised if I would soon have to refer to it as the Adani Lounge, but Adani Airports have taken over the CSMIA Mumbai operations’ and will also start working on the new airport in Navi Mumbai soon. With this, Adani Airports becomes the biggest private airport operator in India. We have to wait and watch about the new passenger experience, if any, coming to this airport.

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