GIFT City: Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu on Friday inaugurated the India Aircraft Leasing & Financing Summit 2.0 at GIFT City.

The summit focused on developing a comprehensive financing ecosystem for aircraft leasing and manufacturing in India, with the aim of capturing a larger share of the global aviation financing market and reducing the outflow of billions of dollars currently spent on overseas leasing.

Addressing the media ahead of the summit, Naidu said GIFT City is poised for a major expansion in aviation leasing activities. He stated that while existing lessors at GIFT City are already handling significant business volumes, airline IndiGo is expected to substantially scale up its operations by increasing aircraft leased through GIFT City from 75 to 150 over the next two years.

He said the move is part of a broader strategy to meet India’s growing aircraft demand through domestic leasing channels by leveraging the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) ecosystem at GIFT City.

The Union Minister also said both the Centre and the Gujarat government are accelerating airport infrastructure development to support future aviation growth. He added that Ahmedabad airport is being planned as a world-class facility by 2030 in view of preparations for the Commonwealth Games.

Naidu further said the government is exploring plans for new airports at locations including Keshod and Deesa.

Speaking at the summit, Chief Minister Patel said Gujarat is also identifying new opportunities in aircraft manufacturing and pilot training in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for the aviation sector. DeshGujarat