The Adani group has pledged a 51% stake in the forthcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIAL) to the State Bank of India (SBI). This pledge is in connection with a substantial credit facility of Rs12,770 crore that SBI has sanctioned for the airport’s development.
Currently, the Adani group, which controls Mumbai International Airport (MIAL), holds a 74% share in NMIAL. The new greenfield airport, slated to commence operations in the first quarter of FY25, has faced a delay of three months from its earlier scheduled opening. Despite this, the project remains a critical component of Mumbai’s expanding aviation infrastructure. The financial closure for NMIAL was declared in March 2022, following SBI’s agreement to underwrite the entire debt requirement of Rs12,770 crore. The 51% stake pledged to SBI is among the largest equity pledges in India’s airport sector, underscoring the scale and significance of this development.
Initially, NMIAL secured Rs8,645 crore in financing from Yes Bank for the design, development, and construction of the airport’s first phase. However, Yes Bank subsequently unilaterally cancelled this facility. With the completion of all phases, NMIAL is projected to handle up to 90 million passengers and 2.6 million tonnes of cargo annually by 2031-32. The first phase will feature a capacity of 20 million passengers, with the fully developed airport comprising four passenger terminals and two parallel runways. For comparison, Mumbai International Airport currently handles 55 million passengers annually. Adani Airport Holdings Limited (AAHL), which manages seven operational airports across India and holds 23% of the nation’s air traffic, recently sought shareholder approval to raise its borrowing limit from Rs20,000 crore to Rs30,000 crore. This request highlights the group’s ongoing capital requirements amidst its expanding portfolio.
Despite a 26% increase in total income to Rs7,394 crore for FY24, AAHL reported a fourfold increase in consolidated net losses, reaching Rs227 crore, compared to Rs52 crore in FY23. At the standalone level, however, the company saw a net profit of Rs473 crore, marking a 360% year-on-year growth. AAHL’s diverse airport portfolio includes major hubs like Mumbai International, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram, Mangaluru, and Lucknow, all of which reported losses for FY24. An inquiry sent to the Adani group for comments and updates on the Navi Mumbai airport project did not receive a response by the time of publication.
