<p>With villagers continuing to oppose the proposed greenfield airport for Chennai, the Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday said it will address “critically” all their concerns, including on livelihood and water flow as the land to be acquired is surrounded by water bodies, while setting a 2030 deadline for the big-ticket project. </p>.<p>Participating in a discussion ‘Greenfield Airport: Timely Initiative to Fasttrack TN’s Growth’, Industries Minister Thangam Thenarasu said the airport in Parandur, 70 km from Chennai, will play an “important and crucial” role in achieving Chief Minister M K Stalin’s dream of making the state a USD 1 trillion economy by 2030. Terming the new airport as the “need of the hour”, he acknowledged issues raised by opposing villagers, and gave an assurance that their concerns will be addressed and taken care of. </p>.<p>S Krishnan, Additional Chief Secretary (Industries) said the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) will float bids for appointment of a strategic advisor and commissioning of a techno-economic feasibility for the project. He said the project will take eight years to complete and the government hopes to implement it by 2030.</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/south/mamata-banerjee-meets-stalin-calls-it-courtesy-meeting-1158817.html" target="_blank">Mamata Banerjee meets Stalin; calls it 'courtesy meeting'</a></strong></p>.<p>Krishnan also said the government will take steps to “preserve the flow of water” and ensure that the water drains naturally so as to prevent any flooding at the new facility. The top bureaucrat said the government will also constitute a team of experts from the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) and College of Engineering, Guindy to study issues related to water flow and address them. </p>.<p>The assurances by Thenarasu and Krishnan come a day after villagers passed a resolution against the airport project – the government has announced that it will provide 3.5 times the market rate as compensation besides an alternate land for housing and a government job for each family affected by the land acquisition for the airport. </p>.<p>“We will critically address all concerns raised on water disposal,” Krishnan said, adding that the airport was absolutely necessary not just for passenger traffic but also for freight movement. He also said every discussion with a potential investor in South East Asia and beyond eventually ends with talk on greater air connectivity to Tamil Nadu, particularly Chennai. </p>.<p>Thenarasu and Krishnan said the existing Meenambakkam Airport, which is struggling to handle the ever-growing air traffic and losing out to expansive aerodromes in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, will “co-exist” along with the greenfield airport, following the multiple airport model on the lines of many global cities. </p>.<p>The government functionaries said Metro connectivity will be extended to Parandur from Poonamallee, a suburb of Chennai, and a multi-modal transport system will be implemented to connect the new facility with the existing one in Meenambakkam.</p>.<p>“It is not that one fine day, we landed up in Parandur and decided to build an airport there. We looked at 11 locations in total and shortlisted four. Of the four, Parandur was least challenging for building the facility. We admit the villagers have concerns and we acknowledge them. We have to convince them, and we will bring them on board,” Thenarasu said. </p>.<p>“The people don’t want to come in the way of the new airport. They have some issues, and they want them to be resolved. We will continue to talk to them as the new airport will complement the airport expansion that is happening in Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchirapalli, and Thoothukudi,” he added. </p>.<p>The minister said the Meenambakkam Airport cannot be expanded as it is located within the city limits and is surrounded by a hillock, defence installations, and heavily inhabited areas. Experts from the aviation and tourism industry said it was high time that Chennai got a greenfield to realise its full potential and stressed on the need to increase freight traffic from the southern metropolis. </p>.<p>Industrialist Mallika Srinivasan, also member of Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission, said infrastructure is the key pillar and backbone of nation building and economy, while laying stress on multi-modal transport network connectivity to the new airport. </p>.<p>“The new airport should be extraordinarily well-located and should be aesthetically appealing to position ourselves as a hub for passenger and logistics traffic. We already have excellent rail, road, and port connectivity. Chennai was 3rd largest airport in the country in terms of traffic and it has now slipped below Hyderabad and Bengaluru,” Srinivasan said. </p>.<p>Villagers have been up in arms since mid-August after the government decided to build the airport at a cost of Rs 20,000 crore, alleging that such a move would “wipe away” agriculture in the locality besides putting large water bodies in danger.</p>.<p>The new airport, which is expected to be built at a cost of Rs 20,000 crore, will have two runways, multiple terminal buildings, taxiways, aprons, and cargo terminal among other infrastructure. It is being built to handle about 10 crore passengers a year. </p>.<p>Though the number of flights and the daily footfall have increased manifold over the years, the city is bereft of a swanky airport like the ones Bengaluru and Hyderabad boast of. The AAI has been expanding the terminal buildings in the existing airport to cater to the ever-increasing rush but a new airport is long overdue. </p>.<p>Besides Chennai, Tamil Nadu has four operational airports – Tiruchirapalli, Madurai, Coimbatore, and Thoothukudi. The state government has now commissioned a study to explore the feasibility of setting up an airport in the industrial city of Hosur located just outside Bengaluru. </p>
<p>With villagers continuing to oppose the proposed greenfield airport for Chennai, the Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday said it will address “critically” all their concerns, including on livelihood and water flow as the land to be acquired is surrounded by water bodies, while setting a 2030 deadline for the big-ticket project. </p>.<p>Participating in a discussion ‘Greenfield Airport: Timely Initiative to Fasttrack TN’s Growth’, Industries Minister Thangam Thenarasu said the airport in Parandur, 70 km from Chennai, will play an “important and crucial” role in achieving Chief Minister M K Stalin’s dream of making the state a USD 1 trillion economy by 2030. Terming the new airport as the “need of the hour”, he acknowledged issues raised by opposing villagers, and gave an assurance that their concerns will be addressed and taken care of. </p>.<p>S Krishnan, Additional Chief Secretary (Industries) said the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) will float bids for appointment of a strategic advisor and commissioning of a techno-economic feasibility for the project. He said the project will take eight years to complete and the government hopes to implement it by 2030.</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/south/mamata-banerjee-meets-stalin-calls-it-courtesy-meeting-1158817.html" target="_blank">Mamata Banerjee meets Stalin; calls it 'courtesy meeting'</a></strong></p>.<p>Krishnan also said the government will take steps to “preserve the flow of water” and ensure that the water drains naturally so as to prevent any flooding at the new facility. The top bureaucrat said the government will also constitute a team of experts from the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) and College of Engineering, Guindy to study issues related to water flow and address them. </p>.<p>The assurances by Thenarasu and Krishnan come a day after villagers passed a resolution against the airport project – the government has announced that it will provide 3.5 times the market rate as compensation besides an alternate land for housing and a government job for each family affected by the land acquisition for the airport. </p>.<p>“We will critically address all concerns raised on water disposal,” Krishnan said, adding that the airport was absolutely necessary not just for passenger traffic but also for freight movement. He also said every discussion with a potential investor in South East Asia and beyond eventually ends with talk on greater air connectivity to Tamil Nadu, particularly Chennai. </p>.<p>Thenarasu and Krishnan said the existing Meenambakkam Airport, which is struggling to handle the ever-growing air traffic and losing out to expansive aerodromes in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, will “co-exist” along with the greenfield airport, following the multiple airport model on the lines of many global cities. </p>.<p>The government functionaries said Metro connectivity will be extended to Parandur from Poonamallee, a suburb of Chennai, and a multi-modal transport system will be implemented to connect the new facility with the existing one in Meenambakkam.</p>.<p>“It is not that one fine day, we landed up in Parandur and decided to build an airport there. We looked at 11 locations in total and shortlisted four. Of the four, Parandur was least challenging for building the facility. We admit the villagers have concerns and we acknowledge them. We have to convince them, and we will bring them on board,” Thenarasu said. </p>.<p>“The people don’t want to come in the way of the new airport. They have some issues, and they want them to be resolved. We will continue to talk to them as the new airport will complement the airport expansion that is happening in Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchirapalli, and Thoothukudi,” he added. </p>.<p>The minister said the Meenambakkam Airport cannot be expanded as it is located within the city limits and is surrounded by a hillock, defence installations, and heavily inhabited areas. Experts from the aviation and tourism industry said it was high time that Chennai got a greenfield to realise its full potential and stressed on the need to increase freight traffic from the southern metropolis. </p>.<p>Industrialist Mallika Srinivasan, also member of Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission, said infrastructure is the key pillar and backbone of nation building and economy, while laying stress on multi-modal transport network connectivity to the new airport. </p>.<p>“The new airport should be extraordinarily well-located and should be aesthetically appealing to position ourselves as a hub for passenger and logistics traffic. We already have excellent rail, road, and port connectivity. Chennai was 3rd largest airport in the country in terms of traffic and it has now slipped below Hyderabad and Bengaluru,” Srinivasan said. </p>.<p>Villagers have been up in arms since mid-August after the government decided to build the airport at a cost of Rs 20,000 crore, alleging that such a move would “wipe away” agriculture in the locality besides putting large water bodies in danger.</p>.<p>The new airport, which is expected to be built at a cost of Rs 20,000 crore, will have two runways, multiple terminal buildings, taxiways, aprons, and cargo terminal among other infrastructure. It is being built to handle about 10 crore passengers a year. </p>.<p>Though the number of flights and the daily footfall have increased manifold over the years, the city is bereft of a swanky airport like the ones Bengaluru and Hyderabad boast of. The AAI has been expanding the terminal buildings in the existing airport to cater to the ever-increasing rush but a new airport is long overdue. </p>.<p>Besides Chennai, Tamil Nadu has four operational airports – Tiruchirapalli, Madurai, Coimbatore, and Thoothukudi. The state government has now commissioned a study to explore the feasibility of setting up an airport in the industrial city of Hosur located just outside Bengaluru. </p>