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GMR’s winning bid to develop, expand and operate Nagpur Airport is set to move ahead into implementation
GMR to create a modern Greenfield terminal and associated facilities
GMR has an unparalleled track record of turning around and transforming airports into world-class aviation hubs both in India and overseas

New Delhi Nagpur, August 20, 2021: Consequent to the ruling by the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court GMR today announced that it is pleased to take up the responsibility of developing and transforming Nagpur Airport into a world-class facility.

Nagpur city is the biggest economic hub in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra and the city’s strategic location in Central India makes it well suited to act as a major aviation gateway for passengers and cargo traffic. The existing facilities at Nagpur Airport have been operating close to the maximum capacity, handling a total of about 3 million passengers and 9500 metric tonnes of cargo during the financial year 2019 20.

Leveraging its experience in Public-Private Partnerships PPP and extensive expertise in taking over legacy airport assets and developing them into modern aviation landmarks, GMR envisages development of the Nagpur Airport in phases to an ultimate capacity of around 30 million passengers annually, representing a capacity increase of over 1000 percent over the coming years.

The first phase of development will see GMR initiate a complete transformation of the Nagpur Airport over a 4-year period, including the construction of a new Greenfield integrated terminal with initial capacity of handling 4 million passengers per annum, associated aeronautical infrastructure including aprons and taxiways, new car park and approach road and a new cargo terminal. At the same time, the existing passenger terminal will also be refurbished to enhance its capacity, improve passenger facilities, introduce modern technology and upgrade the overall ambience to cater to the traffic & operational requirements in the interim period. GMR will focus on replicating its successful upgrade efforts in Delhi Airport in India and Cebu-Mactan in Philippines to take Nagpur Airport into the next level. Delhi, which was ranked 101 in the world in the Airports Council International ACI Airport Service Quality ASQ survey when the facility was handed over to GMR in 2006, rose to reach world 2 rank by the year 2011 and further improved to World 1 by the year 2014 on the back of investments & improvements made by GMR. Under GMR-led management, a landmark new Terminal 2 was created at Cebu using unique local architecture and boasting of the first roof structure in Asia to be completely made from environmentally friendly glued laminated timber. The facility has since gone on to win many accolades for passenger experience and design excellence.

Over the longer term, GMR will invest further in the Nagpur Airport project including the expansion of terminal handling capacity, development of a second runway and a new Air Traffic Control Tower ATC to boost capacity to levels that could potentially serve the needs for the next 2 3 decades of growth at the Orange City.

Nagpur is also well placed to be developed into a major cargo hub, leveraging the city’s strategic geographic location, strong multi-modal connectivity with major economic centers across the country and supportive government and policy environment. GMR has a track record of incubating and growing strong air cargo businesses at its airports, with Delhi Airport cargo traffic growing 263 percent from 380000 metric tonnes to over 1000000 metric tonnes between 2006 2019, and that of Hyderabad Airport growing by 284 percent from around 51000 MT in 2008 to 145000 MT between 2008 2019 under GMR management. Particularly at Hyderabad, GMR’s creation of a dedicated Pharma Zone facility to cater to exports of pharmaceutical cargo has given a major boost to the growth of pharma industry in and around Hyderabad, with the region today having emerged as the biggest hub for pharma exports from India. Nagpur, with its growing base of pharma manufacturing can also potentially benefit from creation of world class air cargo facilities.

For Nagpur Airport, beginning with an initial capacity of 20000 MT annually, GMR will pursue a cargo development vision modelled on its own experience at Delhi and Hyderabad as well as that of major global air cargo hubs such as Memphis, Paris, Hong Kong and Dubai to maximize the city’s growth potential.

In the recent years, GMR’s airports have been renowned for leveraging technology to deliver better efficiencies and passenger experience, being the first in India to roll out initiatives such as a fully integrated Airport Operations Control Centre AOCC for centralized operation and management of airport resources, first multi level inline baggage screening system for seamless check in experience, first fully paperless E boarding and Face Recognition based passenger processing. GMR intends to roll out similar technology solutions already tried and tested at its portfolio airports at Delhi and Hyderabad to Nagpur to ensure customer satisfaction and enhanced passenger experience.

GMR’s overall development strategy for the Nagpur Airport will be fully aligned with the vision of the State Government of Maharashtra and that of MIHAN and lead towards the creation of a fully integrated aviation hub consisting of a modern international airport, world class cargo and logistics facilities and a robust aviation support ecosystem including Maintenance Repair and Overhaul MRO units.

GMR’s proven track record in creating national assets, supporting the creation of employment opportunities and economic activities on a large scale. This fact is underscored by a study carried out by the National Council of Applied Economic Research NCAER which assessed the socio economic impact of Delhi Airport operations in FY2015 and found that it amounted to 17.89 percent value added as percentage of total GSDP of Delhi. A similar study conducted at Hyderabad in FY2010 found that the airport contributed 1.5 percent of the GSDP of the undivided Andhra Pradesh state at the time. GMR is confident of being able to create a new engine of growth for the state of Maharashtra, particularly for the Vidarbha region through its investments in the Nagpur Airport project.

In 2020 GMR Airports partnered with global airports sector leader Airports de Paris ADP of France to form the world’s leading network of airports with ADP taking a 49 percent stake in GMR Airports. This strategic partnership has further cemented GMR’s place at the top of the Indian airports sector with truly unparalleled and global level expertise, experience and human capital in airport development and operations.

With the GMR-ADP combine at the helm, Nagpur Airport is now set to benefit from the same turnaround and transformational focus that the company has brought to its projects including Delhi Airport and the numerous projects executed around the world by ADP.

“Right from the first wave of private participation in development of Indian airports in the mid 2000s GMR has led the way in transforming India’s aviation infrastructure into world class assets. We are very pleased to announce today that we will develop a new Greenfield integrated terminal at Nagpur Airport with latest amenities and modern equipment on par with the best in the world. We are committed to giving the citizens of Nagpur a new global gateway befitting its status as the emerging economic hub of Central India, fully aligned with the developmental vision of the Government of Maharashtra and MIHAN” said Mr. SGK Kishore, Executive Director South and Chief Innovation Officer GMR Group.
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For Further Information, please contact:

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  • Tushar Makkar
  • Subhendu Ray
  • Group Chief Communications Officer
  • Head-Media Relations

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