India’s next Ambani? Coal king Gautam Adani pivots in line with Modi’s sustainable goals

India’s second-richest person, who built an empire centred around coal, is betting big on green projects as PM Modi pursues sustainable development goals

Adani now controls seven airports, and he’s also seeking to boost his renewable energy capacity almost eightfold by 2025

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Gautam Adani has emerged as India’s infrastructure king. Photo: AFP

Published: 2:00pm, 25 Mar 2021Updated: 2:38pm, 25 Mar 2021

After two decades building a business empire centred around coal, Indian billionaire Gautam Adani is now looking beyond the fossil fuel to cement his group’s future. His ambitious plans are getting a boost from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Adani has emerged as India’s infrastructure king, diversifying from mines, ports and power plants into airports, data centres and defence – sectors Modi considers crucial to meeting India’s economic goals. Investors are rewarding the pivot, betting the tycoon’s strategy of dovetailing his interests with the government’s development programme will pay off.

The group’s six listed units added a combined US$79 billion to their market value in the past year at the height of a pandemic, capping the best 12 months in their history. That’s the most after the nation’s two biggest business empires, Tata Group and Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries.

Blue-chip names including French oil giant Total SE and Warburg Pincus LLC have ploughed money into Adani’s companies.

In less than two years, Adani has gained control of seven airports and almost a quarter of India’s air traffic. He has unveiled plans to boost his renewable energy capacity almost eightfold by 2025, positioning himself to benefit as the government debates ambitious climate targets.

Last week, he won a contract to co-develop a port terminal in Sri Lanka, a neighbour India is courting to check China’s influence in the region. Adani Enterprises signed a pact last month with EdgeConneX to develop and operate data centres across India.

One of Adani’s solar plants in Bathinda, Punjab, India. Photo: Handout

“Adani is politically savvy and invests in mostly sensible, long-dated infrastructure projects” broadly tied to government priorities, said Tim Buckley, director of energy finance for Australia and South Asia at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. “So long as India sustains strong growth, the group is likely to prosper under his leadership and witness a surge in global investor interest.”