GMR Airports Plans $2 Bn Expansion for Delhi and Hyderabad Facilities

GMR Airports, the main rival to Adani Group’s airport business, has announced plans to invest up to ₹19,400 crore (approximately $2 billion) over the next five to seven years to expand its facilities in New Delhi and Hyderabad, according to a Bloomberg report. The move comes as India’s aviation sector experiences rapid growth, with passenger numbers expected to rise sharply in the coming decade.

According to Saurabh Chawla, the company’s executive director for finance and strategy, the investment is aimed at increasing capacity and upgrading infrastructure to handle growing demand, the report added. India is currently the world’s third-largest domestic aviation market, after the United States and China. Government projections suggest passenger traffic could reach 1.1 billion over the next 14 years, while the commercial fleet is expected to grow from 400 planes in 2014 to more than 2,350 by 2040.

The company has earmarked around ₹13,800 crore for Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad and up to ₹5,600 crore for the Delhi airport. The funds will be raised through a mix of debt and equity by the respective airport ventures and will not be directly linked to GMR Airports, which serves as the holding company.

Once the expansion is complete, Hyderabad’s airport will be able to handle about 80 million passengers annually, more than double its current capacity of 34 million. Chawla described the projects as possibly the first phase of a broader modernisation drive. GMR currently operates six airports in India, one in the Philippines, and another under construction in Greece.

Focus Remains on Core Business

Chawla reportedly also confirmed that investment plans for the newly acquired Nagpur airport, taken over in June 2026, are under discussion. He added that GMR will continue to bid for local airport projects that the Indian government plans to privatise, but no talks are ongoing regarding overseas airport redevelopment.

Regarding a possible policy change that could allow airport operators to enter the airline business, Chawla made it clear that GMR is not interested. “We’re not interested,” he said,adding that the group prefers to stay focused on its core airport operations, including aircraft maintenance and real estate development around its facilities, as per the report.