The infrastructure arm of Mumbai-based diversified conglomerate JSW Group is seeking an advisor for a potential bid on the Chennai greenfield airport, two sources familiar told Infralogic.

JSW Infrastructure was in talks with at least three advisors, one of them being Deloitte, the sources said without disclosing details.

JSW is in the exploratory stages of understanding the airports business, a third source familiar said.

“JSW is definitely interested,” he said, “along with other business groups that are evaluating the sector for the first time.”

The company may or may not appoint an advisor, he added.

A JSW spokesperson in an email said the company “categorically” denies “any participation” in the Chennai airport procurement and that the query is “factually incorrect.”

Deloitte did not respond to a request for comment.

The preparatory work to offer Tamil Nadu state’s Chennai airport to the private sector is still in its early stages with the central government approving the project this April, according to local media reports citing Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu.

The project will be built in phases and is estimated to cost more than INR 320bn (USD 3.8bn) on completion, according to reports.

The implementing agency is the Tamilnadu Industrial Development Corporation, which is likely to soon initiate the land acquisition process for the project, local reports stated.

JSW Group Chairman Sajjan Jindal announced the group’s entry into the airports business this February, stating an intention to invest in Bengal Aerotropolis Projects, which operates the Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport in the Andal region in West Bengal state.

The state government holds 26% of that airport, while Singapore’s Changi Airports has 33%. The remaining is with other investors. The Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport, built on a 650-acre site, cost INR 6bn and was inaugurated in September 2013. The passenger traffic has been well below estimates, according to reports.

India’s airports infrastructure has drawn interest from multiple investors since 2019 when Adani Group ventured into the sector and won the right to redevelop and operate six airport concessions in competitive bidding.

Last October, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority invested USD 750m in the holding company of Indian infrastructure conglomerate GMR Group, a key shareholder in GMR Airports.

In 2020, GMR Group sold a 49% stake to France-headquartered global airports operator Groupe ADP.

In 2022, the Indian government-anchored National Investment and Infrastructure Fund said it would invest in three of GMR’s airport projects, one in Goa and the other in Andhra Pradesh state. It did not name the third airport.

In November 2019, Zurich International Airport won the contract to build the USD 4bn greenfield Jewar airport near New Delhi.

JSW Group’s flagship company is JSW Steel, among India’s top three steel producers. It has an annual capacity of 35.7 million tonnes, forecast to increase to 43.5 million tonnes by September 2027 and to 51.5 million tonnes by March 2031, according to its latest investor presentation.

JSW Infrastructure operates multiple ports and terminals that handle 174 million tonnes of cargo per annum and is targeting to increase this to 400 million tonnes annually in the next five years.