The announcement comes after the Tamil Nadu government dropped the proposed Greenfield International Airport at Parandur in Kancheepuram district following opposition over environmental and livelihood concerns.
The C Joseph Vijay-led Tamil Nadu government is planning to set up a new international airport near Chennai, according to the Industries Policy Note.
Vijay cited environmental concerns, the impact on agricultural land and the possible loss of local livelihoods. The decision came after CM Vijay announced in the Tamil Nadu Assembly under Rule 110 that the government would drop the Parandur airport project and search for an alternative site.
He said the new location would be chosen to minimise the impact on farms and residential areas. The chief minister said Chennai needed a second airport to meet its growing passenger and cargo demand and support industrial growth, but development should not come at the cost of local communities.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) will check if the sites are suitable, after which the government will take a final decision, ANI reported. The state will identify new sites with the help of experts. The airport is reportedly being planned to meet the rising passenger and cargo demand from the city and neighbouring districts. The proposed system is aimed at handling the increase in passenger and cargo traffic more efficiently. AAI has sought permission from the Tamil Nadu government to lay a road connecting the new passenger handling system with the national highway. He added that facilities will be enhanced and the traffic managed better until the new airport is constructed.
Earlier reporting noted: The move comes four years after former CM and DMK chief MK Stalin announced the airport, the second one near Chennai, in August 2022, about 60 km away from the state’s capital. Earlier reporting noted: Speaking in the assembly, the CM said the existing airport at Meenambakkam has capacity to handle 30 million passengers annually and it would be expanded with a new passenger terminal having capacity to handle an additional 20 million passengers annually.
The Industries Policy Note also said the Airports Authority of India has planned a new passenger handling system on the north-west side of the existing Chennai airport at Meenambakkam. The state government said it would provide all necessary assistance to AAI to implement the project. The expansion will improve services at Chennai airport while efforts will also be made to establish a new airport at an alternative location, according to the note.
Earlier reporting noted: Tamil Nadu CM Vijay drops Parandur airport plan, sparks political slugfest Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay on Monday announced that his government would drop the Parandur airport project, triggering a political slugfest in the state, with the main Opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam ( DMK ) slamming the move and staging a walkout from the state assembly.
