Indian billionaire Adani snaps up 6 pricey airport contracts

Modi's close friend targets non-metro cities but has little experience in aviation

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Chairman and founder of Adani Group Gautam Adani was named India's 10th richest man last year by Forbes. (Getty Images)

ROSEMARY MARANDI, Nikkei staff writer

MUMBAI -- At a stroke, Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has positioned his mines-to-energy conglomerate to become one of the country's leading airport operators -- despite a conspicuous lack of experience in the sector.

This week Adani Group snapped up six contracts for modernizing airports in smaller cities, beating out established operators and fellow newcomers such as GMR Group and Kerala State Industrial Development Corp. The clean sweep raised questions not only over the bid process, but also over how Adani Group will fund the huge operations.

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