Adani to invest Rs 1 lakh crore in airport business, readies for Navi Mumbai launch

The Adani Group’s expanding grip on India’s aviation infrastructure is set to tighten further, with the conglomerate planning to invest around Rs 1 lakh crore in its airports business over the next five years, reinforcing concerns about increasing concentration and market dominance in a sector critical to national connectivity.

The Hindu reported that the investment push comes as Navi Mumbai International Airport prepares to begin commercial operations on December 25. Speaking to PTI ahead of the launch, Jeet Adani, director of Adani Airports, said the group remains bullish on India’s aviation growth, projecting annual expansion of 15–16 per cent for the sector.

The new airport is being developed by Navi Mumbai International Airport Ltd, in which the group holds a controlling 74 per cent stake.

Built at an initial cost of Rs 19,650 crore, the first phase of the greenfield airport will handle 20 million passengers annually, with long-term plans to scale capacity up to 90 million. While the project is positioned as a solution to congestion at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, critics note that the addition also deepens the group’s dominance over Mumbai’s aviation gateways.

Jeet Adani said Mumbai’s existing airport had been supply-constrained since 2016 and unable to keep pace with rising demand. The commissioning of Navi Mumbai airport, he said, would bring some relief. However, with both airports now under the same corporate umbrella, questions remain over competition, pricing power and long-term checks on operational influence in one of India’s busiest aviation markets.

The Adani Group currently operates eight airports across India, spanning major metros and regional hubs such as Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram, Jaipur and Mangaluru. The portfolio, acquired largely through the airport privatisation process, has made the group the country’s largest private airport operator in just a few years.

Jeet Adani has also made it clear that the conglomerate intends to bid aggressively in the next round of airport privatisations, which includes 11 more airports identified by the government.

While the group says investments in Maintenance, Repair and Operations (MRO) and Flight Simulation Training Centres are still under evaluation, it has already separated airport infrastructure from aircraft services, signalling a broader ambition to control multiple layers of the aviation value chain. Industry observers argue that such vertical expansion could further entrench the group’s position across civilian and dual-use aviation services.

Through Adani Airport Holdings Ltd, the group now accounts for roughly 23 per cent of India’s passenger traffic and about 33 per cent of air cargo volumes.

Alongside capacity expansion, it is aggressively scaling non-aeronautical revenues through retail, real estate and city-side developments, transforming airports into diversified commercial hubs rather than purely transport infrastructure.

As Navi Mumbai International Airport comes on stream, the Adani Group’s aviation footprint will grow even larger. While the investments promise capacity creation and infrastructure upgrades, they also sharpen the debate on market concentration, regulatory oversight and whether India’s rapidly expanding aviation sector is becoming increasingly reliant on a single corporate powerhouse.