The Adani Group’s acquisition of Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL) out of insolvency is set to significantly scale up its real estate ambitions in north India, giving it access to a vast land bank and a pipeline of stalled housing projects in the National Capital Region (NCR), where it has had limited exposure so far.
The National Company Law Tribunal’s (NCLT’s) approval of Adani Enterprises Ltd’s (AEL’s) ₹15,000-crore-plus resolution plan for JAL hands the group a ready-made real estate platform spanning 3,985 acres across Noida, the Yamuna Expressway and Greater Noida, at a time when land scarcity and surging prices have intensified competition among developers.
The Ahmedabad-based ports-to-power conglomerate’s portfolio will now include prime land parcels, large, partly developed projects such as Jaypee Greens in Greater Noida and the Jaypee International Sports City near the upcoming Noida International Airport in Jewar, along with thousands of undelivered apartments across multiple projects.
JAL’s assets also comprise five hotels and resorts across locations such as , Agra and Mussoorie, in addition to commercial and industrial properties.
Beyond real estate, the acquisition gives Adani access to JAL’s cement capacity of 6.5 million tonnes in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, along with limestone mines and other raw material linkages, strengthening the group’s broader infrastructure and construction play.
“This transaction will give Adani access to a ready-made portfolio of good quality land and projects in Noida, a market that has performed extremely well in recent years,” said Santhosh Kumar, vice-chairman, Anarock Property Consultants, adding that Adani will create a huge future customer base if it executes and delivers JAL’s unfinished projects.
“Several big corporate developers have entered the Noida market and there is a scramble for land, so Adani gains a big advantage with JAL’s ,” Kumar said.
A property consultant who requested anonymity said JAL’s incomplete projects along Yamuna Expressway and even Noida are close to the upcoming Noida international airport. “This area has seen property and land prices shooting up and Adani can leverage it not only for residential or office development, but also other asset classes including data centres or even logistics,” the consultant said.
Noida is no longer an affordable property market, according to Anarock’s Kumar. Residential prices have shot up from ₹9,000-10,000 per sq. ft before the pandemic, to recent project launches at ₹25,000-30,000 per sq ft., making it a lucrative opportunity if land is available.
An Adani spokesperson did not respond to Mint’s queries till press time.
Legal process and next steps
On Tuesday, the NCLT’s Allahabad bench approved Adani Enterprises’ resolution plan for JAL, rejecting Vedanta Ltd’s challenge. “Resolution plan is approved as per the details in the order,” the NCLT bench said while pronouncing the verdict. A detailed written order was not available till press time.
After NCLT approval, the resolution plan becomes binding, and control shifts to Adani Enterprises, with payments to creditors beginning as per the timeline set by the monitoring committee.
To be sure, dissenting parties such as Vedanta can challenge the order before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal ().
According to lawyers, an approved resolution plan is intended to bring closure but remains open to challenge on limited legal grounds.
“Appeals under Section 61 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code are typically confined to issues such as legal non-compliance, material irregularity in the process, or ineligibility of the resolution applicant. Courts generally do not interfere with the commercial decisions of the committee of creditors,” said Madhav Chitale, partner at Chitale & Chitale Partner
Chitale further noted that an appeal does not automatically stop the implementation of an approved resolution plan. Any stay must be specifically granted by the appellate tribunal, which does so cautiously and only in limited cases. If no stay is granted, the plan can continue to be implemented even while the appeal is pending.
Meanwhile, NCLT has also declined to interfere with the admitted claim of over ₹1,067 crore by the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) in the insolvency proceedings of JAL, noting that the dispute between the parties is pending before the Supreme Court.
Adanis’ realty play
Until 2013, the Group’s real estate business was a part of its flagship company, AEL. Thereafter, it was housed under Adani Properties, which is held by the promoters and operates under the Adani Realty brand name.
The company’s real estate operations, spread across Ahmedabad, Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Pune and Gurugram, are just over a decade old, making it one of the youngest real estate developers. However, it is in the last three-four years that it has started scaling up, coinciding with a boom in the housing market.
In recent years, Adani Properties has taken on a mix of large, complicated projects, ranging from the ₹23,000-crore Dharavi redevelopment project with the Maharashtra government in the heart of Mumbai to the 24-acre prime, sea-facing Bandra Reclamation project.
In terms of pipeline, Adani Properties has several projects lined up for launch in coming months, including the first phase of its biggest township across more than 1,000 acres in Navi Mumbai. It will also start developing the 142-acre cluster redevelopment project in suburban Mumbai’s Motilal Nagar.
Notably, Adani Properties is also in the fray to buy financially stressed Sahara India Commercial Corporation Ltd’s (SICCL) 88 properties, including Aamby Valley in Maharashtra and Sahara Shaher in Lucknow, in a ₹12,000-crore deal.The deal is pending the Supreme Court’s nod.