Adani Airports Holdings (AAHL), India’s second biggest airport operator in terms of passengers handled, has raised $750 million through external commercial borrowings from a consortium of international banks.
The transaction was led by First Abu Dhabi Bank, Barclays and Standard Chartered Bank. The proceeds will be used to refinance existing debt, infrastructure upgrades investments, as well as for capacity expansion.
The borrowings will help enhancement in capacity for AAHL’s six airports located at Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Mangaluru, Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram.
The funds will also be used to scale up the non-aeronautical businesses, including retail, food and beverage, duty free and services across the airport network.
AAHL served 94 million passengers in FY25, a growth of 7% compared to FY24. The company, which is a subsidiary of Adani Enterprises, aims to nearly triple its capacity to 300 million passengers per annum by 2040 from 110 million currently through phased development.
As part of this roadmap, the Navi Mumbai International Airport, which is under the control of AAHL with a final capacity of 90 million passengers per annum, will likely be opened in the September quarter. AAHL also controls the Mumbai International Airport.
“The trust placed in us by leading global financial institutions underscores the long term value and potential of India’s aviation infrastructure,” said Arun Bansal, CEO of AAHL.
Latham and Watkins and Linklaters acted as English Law counsel for the transaction while Cyril Amarchand Mangaldass and TT&A acted as Indian law counsel.
During FY25, AAHL saw a 27% jump in revenues to Rs 10,224 crore while earning before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 43% to Rs 3,480 crore, as compared to FY24. Its income before tax was a loss of Rs 5 crore, a reduction of 93%.
