GMR Airports is set to begin commercial development of land parcels at Delhi Airport while moving ahead with expansion plans at the newly acquired Nagpur Airport, according to Saurabh Chawla, Executive Director, Finance and Strategy, GMR Group.The company expects Delhi to be the first location for land monetisation, with projects covering hotels and commercial office space. At Nagpur Airport, GMR plans to invest ₹500-600 crore in maintenance, upgrades and expansion as it prepares a long-term master plan to increase capacity over time.
He said the company plans to develop both hotels and commercial offices on available land parcels, subject to approvals for individual projects.
Chawla said the Nagpur airport currently has a capacity to handle about 4 million passengers and processed around 3 million passengers last year. GMR expects about 2.5 million passengers from Nagpur to be added to its passenger throughput during the current financial year following the recent takeover of operations.
“The maximum capacity that can be created at Nagpur is about 30 million passengers,” he said, adding that the expansion would take place over several decades.GMR plans to spend ₹200-250 crore on maintenance and upgrade work during the current financial year, followed by another ₹300-350 crore towards improvement projects. The investment will be funded through internal accruals and debt at the special purpose vehicle (SPV) level.
Chawla said the company has started work on the airport’s master plan and terminal planning. Detailed timelines for the next phases of expansion will be shared after the planning process is completed.
He also highlighted Nagpur’s strategic location in central India, saying it offers significant opportunities beyond passenger traffic.
“It is a very key logistics opportunity for our country,” Chawla said, pointing to growing demand from e-commerce and cargo operations.
Explaining airport economics, Chawla said passenger yield is linked to capital expenditure approved by the regulator. He cited Delhi Airport as an example, where yield per passenger increased after significant investment expanded capacity from around 55 million passengers to more than 100 million passengers.
He added that a similar regulatory process would be followed for Nagpur Airport and the upcoming Bhogapuram Airport as capacity expansion projects progress.
