Adani group to bid for AAI’s stake in Mumbai airport: Report

Karan Adani, MD of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) said that the Adani group will bid for the Airports Authority of India’s (AAI’s) stake in the Mumbai airport. He also clarified that it is not interested in bidding for AAI’s residual shares in Delhi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad airports.

According to a report in Mint newspaper, Karan Adani said, “We will bid for (AAI) airports but not for AAI’s stake in airports other than Mumbai. The strategy is simple – we will bid for AAI's stake only if it gives us a controlling stake. So, Mumbai yes, but not other airports.” 

The Adani group’s decision to bid for AAI’s stake in Mumbai airport, and steer clear of its stakes in other airports might mean lower revenues from the government. AAI holds 26 per cent stake each in joint ventures that operate Delhi and Mumbai airports, and 13 per cent in the JVs that operate Hyderabad and Bengaluru airports. 

The Adani group also operates Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Mangaluru, Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram airports. 

Meanwhile, the conglomerate plans to pump in Rs 60,000 crore in the next 5-10 years in its airports. The group plans to invest half of the amount into terminal and runway capacity over 5 years and invest the remaining in city-side development of the airports over 10 years.

“It is a huge amount, but Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL) will support it through internal accruals. We are a startup operating under AEL, so AEL will fund it for us,” Adani Airports Holdings (AAHL) Chief Executive Officer Arun Bansal said during a press briefing.