The logo of the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
Credit: X/@AAI_Official
Chennai: At the request of the Tamil Nadu government, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has undertaken a detailed survey of five potential sites in and around Hosur for the ambitious greenfield airport project being piloted by the DMK dispensation.
The five sites examined and studied by the AAI include the private airstrip owned by Taneja Aerospace and Aviation Limited (TAAL) in Hosur, in one of the initial steps towards realising an airport in the industrial town located just outside Bengaluru.
Sources told DH that the study was akin to the AAI’s survey of four sites in and around Chennai for developing a second airport for the Tamil Nadu capital – Parandur chosen by the state government for building the new facility was one of the locations suggested by the AAI.
“AAI’s study has been completed. A total of five locations in Krishnagiri district shortlisted by the state government have been surveyed. We are awaiting the AAI to submit a report to the state government,” a source in the know told DH.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin had on June 27 announced in the Assembly that Hosur will get an airport of its own spread over an area of 2,000 acres to handle about 3 crore passengers a year. The new airport, once commissioned, will have a single runway.
The government will keep in mind the concessionaire agreement signed between the Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL) that no airport should be constructed within 150 km of the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru till 2033, sources said, adding that TN has been in touch with BIAL and TAAL for the past couple of years.
The source quoted above added that once the AAI submits its report with shortlisted names of locations, the government will work on the next step. “We will choose the best among the shortlisted locations and start preliminary work on land acquisition. We are just getting started,” the source added.
The new airport in Hosur is also likely to cater to people living in many areas of south Bengaluru due to their proximity to the Tamil Nadu town. The Tamil Nadu government’s move also comes close on the heels of Karnataka mulling a second airport for Bengaluru near Tumakuru.
Once the location is identified, the state government will commission a project to study the feasibility of establishing an airport in Hosur, and the potential passenger and freight traffic among others, another source said.
Hosur is home to about 500 big industries and 3,000 MSMEs and now hosts Tata Electronics Private Limited, a key supplier of Cupertino-based Apple Inc and electric vehicle majors like Ola, Ather, Simple Energy, and TVS motor company.