National Investment and Infrastructure Fund will invest in the equity capital of GMR Airports Limited’s (GAL) three airport projects.
These include the greenfield international airports at Mopa, Goa and Bhogapuram, Andhra Pradesh.
The transaction envisages NIIF making a ₹631 crore primary investment in the Compulsory Convertible Debenture (CCD) in GMR Goa International Airport Limited (GGIAL), a special purpose vehicle to run and operate the New Goa Airport. This investment will be NIIF’s first investment in an airport asset in the country and a direct investment in Goa.
GGIAL, in 2016, was awarded the concession to develop and operate a second airport in Goa on a Design-Build-Finance-Operate-and-Transfer (DBFOT) basis. Mopa airport is a greenfield airport PPP concession awarded by a state government. The airport has already received aerodrome license and upon commissioning, shall form part of the first dual-airport system in India alongside Dabolim airport. In the first phase, Mopa International Airport shall have a design capacity of handling up to 4.4 million passengers per annum, with an ultimate capacity of up to 40 million passengers per annum.
Vinod Giri, Managing Partner – Master Fund, National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited, said, “NIIF believes that Mopa international airport will boost air connectivity to the state and provide strong tailwinds to the tourism linked economy of Goa.”
NIIFL’s Master Fund is India’s largest infrastructure fund and has built a well-diversified portfolio across ports & logistics, renewables, smart meters, roads and digital infrastructure. NIIF’s investment in Mopa airport shall be the Master Fund’s sixth investment.