Ahmedabad: The Adani Group, which operates Gujarat’s largest airport, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) Airport in Ahmedabad, is preparing to expand its aviation footprint further in the state, with plans to bid for the Surat and Vadodara airports, which reportedly are expected to be part of the Centre’s next round of airport privatisation.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Jeet Adani, Director, Adani Group, confirmed the conglomerate’s aggressive stance toward future airport acquisitions, stating that the group intends to bid for all 11 airports that may come up for leasing. “If you see the airports that have been identified for the next round, there are a lot of them which have a lot of potential. And that’s why we think we would be quite aggressive in the next round as well,” he said.

When asked which ones are most suitable for the group and which they will go after, Jeet said, “As of now, I would say all 11,” explaining that the group does not require a large amount of upfront capital, as it has already invested heavily in a strong operational platform of people, processes and technology.

The Adani Group currently manages a portfolio of major airports, including Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Jaipur, Lucknow, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram and Mangaluru, and has recently begun commercial operations at the Navi Mumbai International Airport.

The group’s airport expansion strategy aligns with the Centre’s broader monetisation roadmap to unlock value from under-utilised public infrastructure and channel private investment into airport modernisation and capacity enhancement.

As per details submitted in Parliament earlier, airports including Amritsar, Varanasi, Bhubaneswar, Raipur, Trichy, Surat and Vadodara, along with a set of smaller paired airports, have been shortlisted under the National Monetisation Pipeline for leasing between 2022 and 2025.

With Surat and Vadodara emerging as key regional aviation hubs, industry observers note that Adani’s participation in the bidding process could significantly reshape airport operations and service infrastructure in Gujarat in the coming years. DeshGujarat