The Tamil Nadu government is expediting the process for constructing the next greenfield airport in the state. According to reports, the government is said to have identified four plots at Parandur, Sriperumbudur, Mamallapuram and Tirupur. The selection of land is primarily based on factors like the availability of land and the flexibility to construct the required runways.
“It is not easy to finalise a site soon. We should consider the land availability, the number and type of runways that can be constructed and other such issues. We have to see the distance from Tambaram Air Force Base too,” a source told the news publication, The Hindu, which first published the news.
The state government has requested the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to conduct the feasibility of the four identified locations. “We understand that the talk on this airport has been around for years now. But things are progressing now. We understand the economic and business potential that comes by setting up this airport,” The Hindu quoted an unknown source.
Chennai’s second airport has remained on papers for years
Chennai has been waiting to get a second airport for several years. The hunt for land for the second airport began in 1999 when the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) was tasked with locating the land.
In 2007, when the DMK was in power, the then Union government approved the acquisition of 4,000 acres for Chennai’s second airport in Sriperumbudur. The state was awaiting approval from the Ministry of Civil Aviation to conduct the technical study and finalise the location. A reason cited for the delay was the inability of the state government to pay the required compensation for the land to be acquired. However, no proper status update is available for the project.
In 2019, the government under the reign of AIADMK identified two locations – Mamandur and Parandur – for airport construction. AAI sent a team to conduct the pre-feasibility study and submitted a report to the Tamil Nadu government. According to the report, nearly 4,700 acres of land in villages nearby Parandur was chosen for the airport construction, but the project is still on hold, and there is no information if the state is proceeding the same.
