Adani to Invest Rs. 10,700 Cr. in Lucknow Airport Expansion
Adani Group will be investing about Rs. 10,700 crore to expand Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport (CCSIA) in Lucknow. This investment is targeted to increase the airport’s passenger handling capacity to 39 Million Passengers Per Annum (MPPA) from the current 4 MPPA.
Lucknow Airport Expansion Plan gets Environmental Clearance
Expansion plan for Lucknow airport by Lucknow International Airport Ltd. (LIAL), a subsidiary of Adani Group, received environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) on 15th December 2022.
New Terminal Buildings, Cargo Facility & Multi-Modal Hub Envisaged
Adani Group’s plan for Lucknow Airport involves expansion of the airport’s premises over an area of 457.1 ha, which is already in possession of the airport. This expansion entails construction of the airport’s third terminal building, T3, at the CCSIA / Lucknow Airport which is underway, and construction of another terminal, T4. These new terminals will enhance the passenger handling capacity at Lucknow airport.
In addition to the new terminals, a cargo handling facility will be developed spanning an area of 23.14 ha. This new facility will have the capacity to handle 0.25 Million Metric Tonnes Per Annum (MMTPA) cargo.
A multi-modal transport hub will also be developed in addition to new terminal buildings and the new cargo facility. This transport hub will provide connectivity to the airport via metro and road. A multi-level car parking, passenger check-in and self-bag drop facility will be developed as a part of this hub. The car parking shall be connected to the arrivals and departure sections of the terminals via pedestrian walkways.
In order to handle the target passenger capacity, Lucknow Airport would require about 9.6 Million Litres per Day (MLD) of water. LIAL stated that out of this, 4.5 MLD will be supplied by the state government, while the remaining 5.1 MLD will be obtained from the airport’s sewage treatment plant.
Lucknow Airport Expansion to Generate New Jobs
In the construction stage, Lucknow Airport Expansion project will provide direct or indirect employment to about 2,000 people. Once this expansion is complete and commissioned, about 25,000 jobs will be generated, as stated in LIAL’s expansion plan.
Adani’s Presence in the Indian Aviation Sector
Airports Authority of India (AAI) leased Lucknow, Mangaluru, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Thiruvananthapuram and Guwahati airports in February 2019 to the Adani Group for 50 years. This lease empowered the latter to operate, manage and develop these airports. Following this, Adani Airport Holdings Limited (AAHL) was incorporated in August 2019. Subsequently, Adani began its operations in CCSIA on 2nd November 2020.
In July 2021, the group took over Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) by acquiring 74% (50.5% from the GVK Group and 23.5% from two foreign firms) of the stake in Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL). With this, Adani has become the largest private airport operator in India.