📰Adani to Spend $15 Billion to Expand Airports | Daily India Briefing

Today, we breakdown Adani Group’s plan to spend $15 billion on expanding its airports, and the real reason they’re taking this endeavor on now.

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Macro

• The government approved 1.5 million tons of sugar exports last month. Leading millers’ groups are asking to increase exports by another 1 million tons each month with the country heading towards a surplus. 

• Mumbai apartments are now priced at $1,100 (₹100,000) per square foot, matching Manhattan. This shows how Indian wealth is being invested more and more locally, driving up prices in desirable enclaves like Worli similar to the rise in Manhattan’s FiDi.

• The rupee's slump is complicating the RBI path to rate cut decision.Rate cut expectations have faded both with the 8.2 percent GDP growth and a weakening rupee that is now worth less than 90. The rupee has slumped 4.8 percent against the dollar this year, the worst in Asia.

Equities

• Reliance is working on a prospectus for Jio's record IPO. The subsidiary could raise $4.3 billion (₹387 billion) at a $170 billion (₹15.3 trillion) valuation if it goes for the minimum dilution amount. The Jio listing is suspected to occur in 1H26 according to Ambani. 

• A court is allowing Dr. Reddy to export generics of Novo Nordisk's obesity drug.Novo Nordisk’s request to block production of the drug was denied by a court. Dr. Reddy is waiting for a patent to expire before it starts to manufacture generics, joining other countries like Canada and Brazil.

Alts

• Nadella, Microsoft CEO, is visiting India to discuss AI expansion. In Bangalore, Nadella will answer questions on building further AI datacenters while his visit to Delhi is focused on policy and partnerships for American companies. 

• IndiGo's travel chaos worsens as flight cancellations number 300. IndiGo’s stock slipped another 2.8 percent as pilot cancellations and software errors happened.  

• Expect global funds to invest more in India as the rupee gets devalued. The rupee is undervalued on a REER basis; typically equity inflows start to pick up when currencies are undervalued since equities are comparatively cheaper. 

• Hotel chains in India are starting to stand out with quirkier attractions. The biggest Indian hotels are betting on curated, luxury experiences since traditional vacations are starting to become ordinary. The luxury travel segment in India is going to be worth $45 billion (₹4.1 trillion) by 2027

Policy

• India is leasing a $2 billion (₹180 billion) Russia submarine as Putin visits. The nuclear powered submarine has been under negotiations for years now, with the price being a sticking point. The vessel is expected to be delivered by 2028.

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Adani to Spend $15 Billion to Expand Airports

The Adani Group is preparing one of the largest aviation infrastructure pushes in India’s history, planning to deploy roughly $15 billion (₹1.4 trillion) over the next five years to lift passenger-handling capacity across its network of airports to 200 million annually. The investment spree comes just months before a planned IPO of Adani’s airport business, and at a time when India’s aviation market is expanding faster than that of any major economy.

According to people familiar with the strategy, the capex program is anchored by Navi Mumbai Airport, which opens on Christmas and immediately becomes the centerpiece of Adani’s aviation portfolio. The plan includes a new runway, additional taxiways, and terminal infrastructure designed to set the airport up as a parallel hub to Mumbai’s existing facility. In addition, capacity upgrades are planned across the six airports Adani acquired during India’s 2020 privatization round like Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Thiruvananthapuram, Lucknow, Guwahati, and additional works at others.

Roughly 70 percent of the capital outlay is expected to be debt-funded, raised over the five-year development window, with the remainder injected as equity. For a group that has aggressively deleveraged following last year’s market turbulence, the decision to lean back into debt-financed infrastructure underscores the confidence Adani has in India’s aviation demand cycle.

That confidence is not misplaced. India’s passenger numbers are projected to more than double to 300 million annually by 2030. By expanding its network to handle two-thirds of that volume, Adani is positioning itself at the center of the industry’s growth curve. The increases exclude the 20 million in capacity coming online at Navi Mumbai itself, along with the 11 million planned at the new Guwahati terminal opening this month meaning the headline number understates the total uplift across the system.

This push also combines with India’s wider airport privatization strategy. After the first phase in 2006, which handed New Delhi and Mumbai to GMR and GVK, the second phase in 2020 brought six additional airports into private hands, all of which went to Adani. India now plans to privatize eleven more, bundling lossmaking regional airports with profitable metros, creating a structure designed to ensure broad private sector participation. Adani Airport Holdings, the largest operator by airport count, and GMR, the largest by passenger throughput, are expected to dominate the bidding.

The expansion takes place against an even broader backdrop: India aims to increase its airport network from roughly 160 today to 400 by 2047. A second airport serving Delhi is already under construction, mirroring the Mumbai/Navi Mumbai dual-hub model. As India’s urban centers strain under explosive air-travel demand, the country is effectively rebuilding its entire aviation grid from the ground up.

For Adani, the timing matters. Scaling airport capacity ahead of the planned IPO strengthens the group’s pitch to investors, particularly global infrastructure funds looking for long-term regulated assets with strong demand visibility. It also helps reposition the conglomerate’s narrative after a year of external scrutiny by demonstrating operational focus and steady capex deployment.

See you tomorrow.

Written by Yash Tibrewal. Edited by Shreyas Sinha.

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