NIIF to invest up to ₹675 crore in Bhogapuram airport

21 Dec 2023, 13:47 by Anu Sharma · Mint Business News - Official Channel · Join

New Delhi: State-backed National Investment & Infrastructure Fund has committed up to ₹675 crore for the development of the Bhogapuram airport near Vishakhapatnam, it said on Thursday.

This investment commitment follows a definitive agreement between GMR Airports Ltd (GAL), a subsidiary of GMR Airports Infrastructure Ltd, and NIIF. The deal involves an investment in GMR Visakhapatnam International Airport Ltd (GVIAL), a special purpose entity created to develop and manage the Bhogapuram International Airport.

In December last year, the two parties had announced a financial partnership, with NIIF agreeing to invest in the equity capital of three GMR Airports projects. The Bhogapuram airport investment represents NIIF's second venture in airport infrastructure, following its investment in GMR Goa International Airport Ltd, which operates Goa's Manohar International Airport.

NIIF will primarily invest through compulsorily convertible debentures, to be issued by GVIAL, contingent on standard conditions and required approvals.

“We are confident that we will replicate the success of our Hyderabad Airport. The new Bhogapuram airport and airport city will help in the transformation of Visakhapatnam and will place it on the global map," GBS Raju, business chairman – Airports, GMR Group, said.

In 2020, GMR Airports secured the concession to develop and operate the greenfield Bhogapuram International Airport, located north of Visakhapatnam, on a 40-year design-build-finance-operate-and-transfer basis. The airport, poised to be Andhra Pradesh's largest, is expected to handle up to 6 million passengers annually in its initial phase, eventually expanding to handle 40 million passengers per year.

"NIIF’s investment in GVIAL represents the Fund’s second airport project, underscoring our commitment to participate in the implementation of Government of India’s ambitious National Infrastructure Pipeline," said Vinod Giri, managing partner – Master Fund, NIIF.

GMR AIRPORTS INFRASTRUCTURE

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NIIF to invest up to ₹675 crore in Bhogapuram airport

GMR AIRPORTS INFRASTRUCTURE

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