Hyderabad Airport raises Rs 2,100 crore to repay debt

Mumbai GMR Hyderabad International Airport has raised about ₹2,100 crore through a long-tenor rupee bond, refinancing an upcoming dollar debt maturity, said people familiar with the transaction. The fundraise underscores the airport operator's sharpening focus on the domestic market to lower funding costs and reduce currency risk. The 15-year bond was priced at an internal rate of return of about 7.82%, with step-ups after five and 10 years. Deutsche Bank and Axis Bank acted as arrangers as well as investors in the deal. Proceeds of the issue will be used to refinance overseas dollar bonds maturing in early February 2026.

GHIAL has a senior secured note of about $287 million with a coupon of roughly 4.75% that falls due on February 2. While the dollar coupon appears low, the effective cost after hedging and related expenses had risen to more than 9.5%, making domestic borrowing more attractive, said one of the persons cited above.

The latest issuance is part of an effort by GHIAL to improve its debt profile by replacing foreign currency liabilities with rupee funding and extending maturities. The company had been planning to address the February 2026 bullet repayment through domestic non-convertible debentures, seeking to reduce refinancing and currency risks. Following the February 2026 maturity, GHIAL faces another bullet repayment of about $350 million in October 2027.


Beyond refinancing, GHIAL is expected to take on fresh debt of about ₹10,000 crore to fund capital expenditure under its capacity expansion plan, often referred to as CP4, according to an Icra Ratings report from earlier this month. Excluding the dollar bond maturities, the company has scheduled repayments of about ₹750 crore on a standalone basis between fiscal 2026 and fiscal 2030.

GMR Hyderabad International Airport operates the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad in Hyderabad. The airport began commercial operations on March 23, 2008. GHIAL is promoted by GMR Airports with a 74% stake, along with the Airports Authority of India and the Telangana government holding 13% each. The airport's capacity was expanded to 34 million passengers in 2024.