Adani Airport Holdings (AAHL), a fully-owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprises, has taken over the management control of Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) from the GVK Group.

The takeover comes after the Adani Group company secured approval from the Indian government, the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) of Maharashtra, and the Maharashtra government.

It can be recalled that in February 2021, Adani Airport Holdings had acquired a 23.5% stake in the Mumbai International Airport (also called the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport) from ACSA Global and Bid Services Division (Mauritius) for INR 16.85 billion.

Subsequently, Adani Airport Holdings acquired an additional stake of 50.5% held in the Mumbai International Airport by GVK ADL, a subsidiary of GVK Group. The remaining 26% stake in the Mumbai International Airport is held by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

The Mumbai International Airport is the second busiest airport in India on the basis of both passenger and cargo traffic.

Following the acquisition of a controlling stake in the Mumbai International Airport, Adani Airport Holdings now has eight airports in its management and development portfolio to become the largest airport infrastructure company in India. The Adani Enterprises subsidiary accounts for 25% airport footfalls apart from controlling 33% of air cargo traffic in the country.

Adani Airport Holdings said that it will start the construction of the Navi Mumbai International Airport in August 2021 and conclude the financial closure in the next 90 days. The new international airport, which will be operated by the Mumbai International Airport, will be commissioned in 2024, said Adani Airport Holdings.

Gautam Adani – Chairman of the Adani Group said: “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.

“Our airport expansion strategy is intended to help converge our nation’s Tier 1 cities with the Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities in a hub and spoke model. This is fundamental to enabling a greater equalization of India’s urban–rural divide, as well as making international travel seamless and smooth.

“I believe that the economic value that cities create will be maximized around airports and the cities of tomorrow will be built with the airport as the focal point. This is a fundamental lever for modern world development and the rapid build-out of our airport infrastructure will create multiple employment structures that generate thousands of new job opportunities.”

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