TERMINAL VELOCITY

THE TAKE-OFF

The GMR group developed India’s first greenfield airport, the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad, in a record 30 months. It was also responsible for the upgrades to India’s largest international airport, the Indira Gandhi International airport in Delhi. The group is active in seven countries in the energy, highways, large urban development and airport sectors.

THE JOURNEY

The group was founded by Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao, a mechanical engineer from Andhra University. He began his business in 1978 with the purchase of a jute mill. Since then, his business has been involved in a number of industries, such as banking (with Vysya Bank), insurance (with ING Vysya), software, breweries and sugar, among others.

DESTINATION NEXT

The Indian aviation industry is growing at 20 per cent and expected to be the third largest market by 2020. For this reason, the GMR Aviation Academy has introduced a post graduate diploma course for those looking to join the aviation industry—which will require about one million skilled personnel over the next 15 years. “We want to be a truly global player in infrastructure, “says G.M. Rao.