GMR Airports Ltd. is planning to invest up to ₹19,400 crore ($2 billion) over the next five to seven years to expand and modernise its airport facilities in New Delhi and Hyderabad, reflecting the company’s confidence in the long-term growth of India’s aviation sector. The investment will focus on increasing airport capacity and upgrading infrastructure to cater to rising passenger traffic.
Of the total planned investment, around ₹13,800 crore has been earmarked for Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad, while up to ₹5,600 crore is planned for the New Delhi airport. The investments will be funded through a combination of debt and equity raised by the respective airport ventures and will not be directly financed by GMR Airports, the holding company.
The Hyderabad airport expansion is expected to more than double its annual passenger-handling capacity. Once the planned expansion is completed, the airport will be capable of handling around 80 million passengers annually, compared with its present capacity of approximately 34 million passengers.
The expansion plans come against the backdrop of strong growth expectations for India’s aviation market. Government estimates indicate that India’s passenger traffic could increase nearly six-fold to around 1.1 billion passengers over the next 14 years. The country’s commercial aircraft fleet is also projected to grow from around 400 aircraft in 2014 to more than 2,350 aircraft by 2040, creating a need for significant expansion of airport infrastructure and capacity.
GMR Airports is also evaluating further investments across its airport portfolio, including Nagpur Airport, while continuing to explore opportunities to participate in airport privatisation and development programmes. The company remains focused on airport infrastructure and related businesses rather than entering the airline sector.
The planned investment highlights the increasing scale of infrastructure spending required to support India’s expanding aviation ecosystem. With passenger numbers and airline fleets expected to rise substantially, the expansion of major airport hubs such as Delhi and Hyderabad is likely to play an important role in strengthening the country’s aviation capacity over the coming decade.