Chennai
oi-Ashish Rana
Tamil Nadu government has again restarted the search for a site for Chennai’s second airport and, Cheyyur and Gummidipoondi are now emerging the two new options. Now the state government has approached Airports Authority of India (AAI) for a pre-feasibility assessment, marking a fresh phase in a project that is in the discussions from last three decades.
Tamil Nadu has requested the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to conduct a pre-feasibility assessment on Cheyyur and Gummidipoondi as potential sites for Chennai’s second airport, after abandoning the previously proposed Parandur project.
AAI To Begin Fresh Assessment Of Two Sites
The two locations that have been decided on are in Chengalpattu and Tiruvallur districts. Cheyyur is nearly 100 km from Chennai’s existing airport at Meenambakkam, while the Manellore area near Gummidipoondi is around 50 km from the city.
Now AAI is soon going to inspect both the sites before preparing its assessment. The inspection study will examine that either one of these site can support major airport and if not then what are the regulatory and technical hurdles could rise.
Although, Cheyyur will be needing clearance from Ministry of Defence because the area falls under the airspace controlled by Indian Air Force at Tambaram. Even the Gummidipoondi option also faces approval-related challenges.
Why Tamil Nadu Is Looking Beyond Parandur
The new search for second location started after Tamil Nadu’s government decision to drop the proposed Parandur airport project. Tamil Nadu CM C. Joseph Vijay announced the decision of drooping Parandur in Assembly over concerns over agricultural land, local livelihoods and the effect on villages around the proposed site.
However the government made it clear that rejected Parandur project doesn’t mean that Chennai will no longer needs another airport. Rather they have to identify a location where the impact on farming communities and residential areas will get less effected.
Cheyyur and Gummidipoondi were already considered during the earlier searches for second Chennai airport, now they are making their return after dropping Parandur.
Existing Chennai Airport Will Continue To Expand
The search for location of second airport is not affecting the efforts to increase capacity at Meenambakkam. Currently, AAI has been already working on addition passenger-handling infrastructure at the existing airport. The state government has made sure that it will support the required connectivity and infrastructure work.
This expansion is necessary to address immediate capacity pressure but officials and aviation planners have always asked for another airport to Chennai.
Second Airport Could Still Take Years
However, the latest shortlist is still an early step and AAI’s pre-feasibility inspection will decide the location is ready for the airport or not. Then the state will move towards detailed planning, clearances, land acquisition and construction.
According to some reports, the second Chennai airport can still take time at least five to seven years to become operational.
