“This was a long-term hedged guess. With cargo capability projected to maintain rising, DIAL wished a devoted and strategic play on this area,” mentioned the primary particular person.
“Cargo Metropolis is predicted to contribute round 25% of DIAL’s income, cargo goes to play a a lot larger function of their general enterprise combine,” mentioned the second particular person.
The mission includes creating a cargo and logistics hub—spanning round 50.5 acres with warehousing, truck parking, and specific cargo services—underneath a income‑share mannequin with a minimal month-to-month assure payable to DIAL. In the course of the monetary yr ended 31 March 2025, DIAL reported whole income of ₹5,733.87 crore as towards ₹5,094.86 crore within the earlier monetary yr, a rise of 13%.
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GMR Airports has a 74% stake in Delhi Worldwide Airport Ltd (DIAL), with the Airports Authority of India holding the remaining 26%.
“It’s going to run on a revenue-share mannequin with DIAL, linked to Cargo Metropolis’s enterprise every year. There’s additionally a minimal month-to-month assure, including as much as about ₹415 crore by way of 2036,” mentioned the primary particular person.
Queries despatched to GMR Airports, which operates Delhi airport by way of DIAL, on Friday morning didn’t elicit a response till press time.
GMR Airports Ltd cleared a plan to boost ₹5,000 crore on 14 August by way of a mixture of fairness, debt, and convertible devices. The funds will probably be deployed in tranches based mostly on enterprise wants. A particular function automobile (SPV) has been authorized to supervise Cargo Metropolis’s financing, design, development, and operations.
Air cargo management
“The ₹5,000 crore mission will create a hub with warehousing, truck parking, and specific cargo services, and it’s being positioned as a giant guess on home cargo, particularly e-commerce,” mentioned the second particular person.
This follows the slated opening of Noida Worldwide Airport in Jewar, which is able to compete with DIAL on cargo capability within the Nationwide Capital Area (NCR).
“Jewar Airport can be placing collectively its personal large air cargo plan. GMR, in flip, needs to retain its management place in air cargo for the years forward,” mentioned Anurag Gupta, associate at Deloitte.
“From DIAL’s viewpoint, Jewar is clearly a contest. The standard of infrastructure will make a distinction. That mentioned, DIAL has a bonus to start out with due to its current airline relationships, freight forwarders, and customers. So long as the infrastructure stays aggressive, that incumbent edge ought to proceed,” mentioned Vikas Sharma, associate at Funding Banking – Infrastructure, EY India.
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Furthermore, e-commerce is about to be a serious driver. The civil aviation ministry has set a goal to boost India’s air cargo capability to 10 million tonnes by 2030, up from about 3.7 million tonnes in 2024.
“Delhi Airport accounts for about 30% of the present quantity, and with added capability it might take a bigger share,” mentioned EY’s Sharma.
“A big a part of this will probably be pushed by e-commerce, as a lot of the expansion is in home cargo. On the identical time, as India pushes to grow to be a worldwide hub for high-end manufacturing and perishables, air cargo will play a crucial function,” mentioned Deloitte’s Gupta.
Rivals powering up
Sometimes, the mannequin for airports like Delhi is that the concessionaire—on this case GMR—both brings in a captive associate or units up its personal services, which then run the cargo infrastructure and lease it out to logistics service suppliers, defined Gupta.
In FY25, GMR Airports dealt with 120.5 million passengers, marking a 9% enhance from the earlier yr. Income climbed 18% to ₹10,836 crore, and Ebitda rose 22.5% to ₹4,188 crore. Nonetheless, the corporate nonetheless reported a internet lack of ₹817 crore, solely marginally higher than the ₹829 crore loss in FY24.
Adani, however, is specializing in city-side growth and cargo growth. It has lined up ₹20,000 crore of funding, with most of it going into Mumbai and Navi Mumbai airports, to push non-aeronautical income to 70% by 2030—a major leap from the trade’s present common of fifty%, based on anEconomic Instances report.
Alongside this, Adani has been increasing its cargo footprint. The group dealt with over 1 million tonnes of air cargo in FY 2023-24, a 7% year-on-year enhance, giving it roughly 30% of the nationwide market.
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Key Takeaways
DIAL expects Cargo Metropolis to contribute 25% of its income underneath a revenue-share mannequin.
GMR will make investments ₹5,000 crore within the mission, with a minimal assure of ₹415 crore by way of 2036.
The hub will give attention to home cargo and e-commerce, spanning 50.5 acres.
Jewar Airport and Adani’s cargo growth pose aggressive challenges.
India goals to triple air cargo capability by 2030, with Delhi Airport positioned to steer.
