13 hours ago
Mumbai Airport Operator Secures $1 Billion Financing for Upgrades
Adani landing two big funding deals back-to-back says a lot about how easily the group can tap into global money. And it's happening just as India's trying to catch up on airport infrastructure.
Indian airport operator Adani Airport Holdings has raised $1 billion to support the growth and improvement of Mumbai International Airport. The funding comes just weeks after the airport company secured $750 million from a group of global banks to upgrade six other airports across India.
Adani Airport Holdings manages seven Indian airports and is the country's largest airport infrastructure company, accounting for 25% of passenger footfalls and 33% of the country's air cargo traffic.
The $1 billion is a mix of a $750 million bond sale and the option to raise another $250 million later. The funds will go toward 'transforming the airports infrastructure through continued investments in modernization, capacity expansion, digitization, and technology integration,' Adani said in a statement.
It added that the investment will also support sustainability goals, including a target for Mumbai Airport to hit net-zero emissions by 2029.
This is the first time a private company in India's airport sector has raised money through an investment-grade bond. Adani Airport said it expects the bond to receive a BBB- rating, which is a medium-grade score.
Adani Airport raised the money using a structure called 'project finance,' which ties the loan directly to Mumbai Airport's income rather than backing it with the broader Adani Group. Apollo, a US-based investment firm, led the deal, with other participants including BlackRock and Standard Chartered.
Calling it the 'largest private investment-grade project finance issuances,' Arun Bansal, CEO, Adani Airport, said: 'With participation from Apollo-managed funds and leading institutional investors, we are proud to deepen our access to global pools of capital.'
The Earlier Funding
This new round of funding follows a $750 million loan Adani Airport took earlier this month from a consortium of international banks, including First Abu Dhabi Bank, Barclays, and Standard Chartered. The company said the loan would support upgrades at six regional airports: Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Mangaluru, Jaipur, Guwahati, and Thiruvananthapuram.
Adani Airport had said it would also use the money to grow non-aviation services like retail, food and beverage, and duty-free shopping inside airports, all of which are becoming big revenue sources for airport operators.
Last year, reports quoting Jugeshinder Singh, the group's chief financial officer, said Adani Enterprises is planning to list Adani Airport Holdings by fiscal 2028.
Rise of Indian Aviation
Together, these two fundraising deals suggest Adani Airport is pushing ahead with its plan to modernize and expand capacity across its network. The company served 94 million passengers in the last financial year and aims to handle 300 million annually by 2040.
The upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport, also managed by Adani, is being developed for $2 billion and is expected to ease congestion at the current Mumbai airport. The aim is to position the city as a global transit hub.
The airport's opening has now been pushed from May this year to August. The first phase will add capacity for 20 million passengers, with eventual expansion up to 90 million. Airlines like IndiGo have already committed to flying from the new airport as soon as it opens.
Low-cost carrier Akasa Air became the latest airline to partner with Adani Airport to commence flight operations.
IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers said earlier this month that the Navi Mumbai airport will connect to 14 international destinations at launch.
India is now the world's third-largest aviation market, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). India's 174 million passengers in 2024 accounted for 4.2% of global air traffic. IATA projects India's annual passenger traffic to triple by 2044, reaching 425 million journeys per year.
The airports in Mumbai, along with the upcoming Jewar airport in Delhi, will help cater to the growing demand for air travel in the country.
