India’s latest airport public-private partnership (PPP) effort is underway. The government has confirmed plans that were first set out last year for bundled regional airport assets, marking the next potential subcontinent buying wave for global aviation infrastructure investors.

The 11 Airports Authority of India (AAI) brownfield airports are part of a larger 26-airport pool, and are available in five tranches as follows:

1. Amritsar (ATQ), Kangra/Dharamshala (DHM)

2. Gaya (GAY), Kushinagar (KBK), Varanasi (VNS)

3. Aurangabad (IXU), Raipur (RPR)

4. Bhubaneswar (BBI), Hubli (HBX)

5. Tirupati (TIR), Trichy (TRZ).

According to local media, India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has submitted its plans to the Public Private Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC) for approval so that tenders can be prepared. At the time of writing, tenders had yet to be issued as the committee has requested several clarifications, including eligibility criteria, capex requirements, and bundle caps.

This privatization round comes after a series of PPPs that kicked off in 2003 with the eventual sell-off of India’s biggest hubs, Delhi (DEL) and Mumbai (BOM) in 2006. The 2019 round of six airports was won by the Adani Group, making it India’s largest private airport operator.

Revenue for Government Coffers

The Modi government has been keen to showcase the aviation opportunities in the country, and airport PPPs have been a high-profile—though not the most lucrative—part of the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP), which is tasked with extracting revenue from public infrastructure, often via leasing.

A big change is that the latest 11 airports are part of NMP 2.0, the 2025-2030 second extraction phase that aligns with the infrastructure development plans of the Viksit Bharat initiative for a developed India by 2047. NITI Aayog, India’s main government policy think tank, notes: “PPPs are an important mode of monetization under NMP 2.0 and are expected to play a significant role by improving public sector efficiency and service, reducing public debt through capital recycling, and attracting private sector investment.”

Below, airportIR looks at how the wider aviation PPP process is faring, the reasoning behind this latest set of batched assets, and the financial framework underpinning the process.

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