APSEZ launches ₹1,400-cr commercial airport in Mundra

The Adani Group in a recent development has decided to convert its private airstrip at Mundra port complex into a full-fledged commercial airport at an investment of ₹1,400 crore. The expert appraisal committee (EAC) of the ministry of environment, forest and climate change has recommended the project, which includes a dedicated aerospace manufacturing facility, for environmental clearance. The existing private airstrip at Mundra, constructed on over 45 hectares of land, will be converted into a commercial airport spread over 522 hectares, with the capability to serve Boeing 747-400 aircraft and will be commissioned by 2022. It will be run by Mundra International Airport Pvt Ltd, a wholly-owned unit of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ), which runs India’s biggest private port at Mundra in Gujarat’s Kutch district. The Ahmedabad-based infrastructure builder, led by Gautam Adani, ventured into the airport business earlier this year by emerging the highest bidder for running the Airports Authority of India-operated airports at Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Jaipur, Mangaluru, Guwahati, and Thiruvananthapuram on a long-term lease of 50 years.