Adani Airports to be ‘quite aggressive’ in next privatisation round; all 11 airports on radar, says Jeet Adani

The Adani Group has signalled an aggressive push to expand its airport portfolio further, with Jeet Adani indicating that the conglomerate is keen to bid for additional airports if the government launches the next round of privatisation.

Speaking in an exclusive interview to CNBC-TV18, Jeet Adani said the group continues to see strong potential in the airports identified by the government and would actively evaluate opportunities as they come up.

“Absolutely yes,” he said when asked whether Adani Airports would have the appetite to take on more airports through privatisation. “If you see the airports that have been identified for the next round, many of them have a lot of potential. That is why we think we would be quite aggressive in the next round as well.”

While declining to name specific airports it may pursue, Jeet Adani made it clear that the group is keeping all options open.

Asked which assets were on its radar, he said, “As of now I would say all 11,” referring to the airports identified for possible privatisation in the next phase.

The comments underline Adani Group’s intent to deepen its presence in India’s fast-growing aviation sector, where it has rapidly emerged as the largest private airport operator in the country.

The group entered the sector in 2019 through the incorporation of Adani Airports Holding Company and today operates eight airports. Six were acquired through the privatisation route, while Mumbai International Airport came via the acquisition of GVK’s stake, alongside the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport.

Crucially, Jeet Adani downplayed concerns around funding constraints, suggesting that capital availability would not be a limiting factor in pursuing new airport assets.

“I don’t think we need a large amount of capital upfront,” he said, pointing instead to the scalable operating platform the group has built over the past few years.

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According to him, Adani Airports’ expansion strategy is anchored in its people, processes and technology, which can be extended to new airports without significant incremental investment.

“The platform we’ve built—people, processes and technology—can be extended to new airports immediately. We’ve trained our second line well, grown talent in-house and developed scalable systems. That’s our strength,” he said.

The focus, Jeet Adani added, is less about arranging capital and more about identifying the right opportunities. “Capital isn’t the issue; it is more about the opportunity,” he said.

With passenger traffic in India continuing to grow and the government pushing airport modernisation and private participation, Adani Group’s assertive stance sets the stage for heightened competition in the next round of airport privatisation.