GMR Airports plans to invest Rs 194 billion (bn) over the next five to seven years to expand New Delhi and Hyderabad facilities. The spend will focus on capacity increases and modernisation to cope with a rapid rise in passenger volumes, the company said. The projects will be funded by a mix of debt and equity through the airport ventures and not by the holding company.

The company has earmarked about Rs 138 bn for Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad and up to Rs 56 bn for the New Delhi airport. Once completed, the Hyderabad upgrade will accommodate about 80 million (mn) passengers, more than double the current annual volume of 34 million (mn) fliers. GMR is the largest operator by number of fliers while Adani leads by number of airports.

The expansion comes as India remains the world’s third largest domestic aviation market, trailing only the US and China, and traffic is projected to grow six-fold to around one point one billion passengers over the next 14 years according to government estimates. The national commercial fleet is forecast to rise from 400 aircraft in 2014 to more than 2,350 by 2040. The company sees the build-outs as part of a broader modernisation drive across its portfolio.

GMR’s portfolio includes six airports in India, one in the Philippines and another under construction in Greece, and France’s Aeroports de Paris SA owns a 26.5 per cent stake in GMR Airports. Investment plans for the newly acquired Nagpur airport are under discussion after the June 2026 takeover. The group does not intend to enter the airline business even if policy changes permit operators to run carriers and will focus on airport operations, aircraft maintenance and related real estate.