Pursuits

India's Billionaires Want Their Own Airport

  • SoftBank's Son needed ministerial help for fast jet trip
  • Bombardier sees more than 900% growth in private planes

An Airbus SAS A320 aircraft operated by IndiGo flies over slum housing.

Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg
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On a recent trip to the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, federal Power Minister Piyush Goyal sensed the region could woo investment from SoftBank Group Corp.’s billionaire founder Masayoshi Son, who happened to be elsewhere in the country.

When Goyal asked for Son to fly to the state capital Raipur immediately, Son’s colleague -- mindful of India’s thicket of aviation rules -- thought the minister had lost his mind.