Adani Airports Holdings (AAHL) plans to invest around Rs 1 lakh crore over the next five years across airport infrastructure, terminals and city-side development, and is evaluating a potential listing between 2027 and 2030 once key operational and financial milestones are met, its director Jeet Adani told Fe in an interaction.
The proposed capital expenditure will span air-side assets, terminal expansion and large-scale non-aeronautical development across the company’s airport portfolio, including the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA), which is scheduled to be commissioned on December 25. AAHL currently operates seven airports, including Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Jaipur and Guwahati, making it the country’s second-largest private airport operator.
“We have done a five-year guidance on capital expenditure and in that plan, we have lined up Rs 1 lakh crore across everything — air-side, city-side and terminals. These investments will be across our eight airports and beyond,” Adani said.
He said that the company is considering tapping public markets through either an initial public offering or a demerger in the 2027–30 period. “Either it is going to be an IPO or a demerger, and 2027–30 is a good timeline,” he said.
Three Triggers for a Potential Public Listing
He outlined three preconditions for a listing. The first is the start of operations at NMIA. The second is achieving financial self-sufficiency. “Right now, the company is dependent on Adani Enterprises for support. While we are Ebitda positive, the size of the capex means we still rely on the parent for cash. Over the next two to three years, on an ongoing basis, we should become self-sufficient,” Adani said. The third trigger is the leasing or pre-leasing of at least one large city-side development project.
NMIA will be the largest airport in AAHL’s portfolio once fully built out, with an eventual capacity of up to 90 million passengers annually. Adani said traffic projections have effectively shifted by a year due to the later-in-the-year opening. The airport is expected to handle two to three million passengers in the first year of operations, around 12 million in FY27, and reach its Phase 1 capacity of 20 million passengers the following year.
Alongside NMIA’s commissioning, AAHL has revised timelines for the redevelopment of Mumbai airport’s Terminal 1. The phase-wise demolition of T1, earlier planned to begin in November, has been deferred to around 2030 and aligned with the construction and commissioning of NMIA’s Terminal 2. “We are seeing the Mumbai Metropolitan Region as one integrated demand market. Even after adding 20 million capacity at NMIA, demand remains higher than supply,” Adani said.
Construction of NMIA’s next terminal is expected to begin within the next six months. Once Terminal 2 at NMIA becomes operational, likely within three to three-and-a-half years of construction start, AAHL expects a three-to-five-year window to demolish and rebuild Mumbai’s T1. In the interim, the company is undertaking structural strengthening works at the existing terminal.
Transforming Airports
A significant portion of AAHL’s investment plan is directed at non-aeronautical revenue streams. At NMIA, the company has around 240 acres of developable city-side land. “We will develop the first two phases ourselves. This will be a mixed-use development — commercial real estate, hospitality and retail,” Adani said. The first phase will involve about 5 million square feet of development, with an additional 2 to 3 million square feet planned to be added annually.
A key component of the city-side plan is a 25,000-seat indoor arena being developed in partnership with a global operator. “The arena is meant for live entertainment, but it can also be used as a convention centre,” Adani said, adding that city-side leasing would be a major driver of long-term value creation.