The gateway kings

From a customer point of view what will the duopoly of Adani and GMR at the top mean? A drive for airport excellence, innovation and a world-class passenger experience. Would it also mean higher charges? AMEYA JOSHI reports

- AMEYA JOSHI

After the airline battle in India's skies, a battle for airports is brewing up on the ground. From having a private airport at Mundra to winning bids for six airports and then checkmating GVK to bag Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, Adani airports have started making mark. This is in addition to Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Guwahati, Mangalore and Trivandrum airports which the group now has.

Privatisation of airports has not been a popular concept in India in the past, with the lone private airport at Kochi. Then came the first wave: privatisation of the Mumbai and Delhi airports, along with construction of greenfield airports at Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Durgapur. The first round was a draw between the GMR group and the GVK group, with GMR bagging Delhi and Hyderabad, while GVK got Mumbai and Bengaluru.

A decade later, GVK is out of the game, having sold its stake in Bengaluru International Airport Limited to Fairfax and cashed out of the Mumbai airport and the Navi Mumbai one to Adani Airports. The NOIDA airport at Jewar is being constructed in partnership with Swiss Airports, making it another group having interest in the Indian airport infrastructure sector.

ADANI AND GMR: HOW DO THEY STACK UP?

The Adani Group seems to have entered the business with a bang, wanting to create a flutter as India aims at becoming the third-biggest aviation market in the world over the next couple of years.