<p>Parandur, a sleepy village near Sriperumbudur in Kanchipuram district, will house Chennai city’s second airport after Tamil Nadu shortlisted the location for development of a greenfield facility.</p>.<p>The Tamil Nadu government’s preference for Parandur, 70 km from the state capital, over Pannur off the Chennai-Bengaluru highway was conveyed to the Union Government during a meeting between Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and state Industries Minister Thangam Thenarasu last week.</p>.<p>Though the state government hasn’t made any formal announcement, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Gen (retired) V K Singh on Monday told DMK Rajya Sabha MP, Kanimozhi N V N Somu, in a written answer that the greenfield airport will come up at Parandur.</p>.<p>The Tamil Nadu government had suggested four places -- Tirupporur, Parandur, Pannur, and Padalam – to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for Chennai’s second airport. The existing Meenambakkam airport is struggling to handle the ever-increasing rush despite modernisation plans by the AAI.</p>.<p>Gen Singh said AAI found two sites at Parandur and Pannur comparatively more feasible for development of airport and forwarded the Pre-Feasibility Report to Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Limited (TIDCO) advising it to carry out Obstacle Limitation Surface (OLS) survey and charting work at the two identified sites.</p>.<p>“After comparing the viability and feasibility including the presence of habitations and industrial establishments and the land acquisition cost of both the sites, the state government has shortlisted Parandur site as the location for development of Greenfield airport,” he told Rajya Sabha.</p>.<p>The state government will have to submit a proposal to the Civil Aviation Minister for grant of 'Site Clearance' for the finalised site. Railway connectivity – the nearest station Thirumalpur is just 9 km away – and availability of huge land parcels seem to have worked in favour of Parandur.</p>.<p>Thirumalpur is part of the Arakkonam-Chengalpattu railway line and an airport at Parandur will bring in massive development in the backward region.</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>The government’s 2006 plan to construct a greenfield airport in Sriperumbudur, an industrial hub just outside Chennai, did not take off due to a slew of factors, including opposition from PMK, which was an ally of the then DMK government. Efforts by the AIADMK government between 2011 and 2021 in this regard also did not fructify.</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>Parandur, a sleepy village near Sriperumbudur in Kanchipuram district, will house Chennai city’s second airport after Tamil Nadu shortlisted the location for development of a greenfield facility.</p>.<p>The Tamil Nadu government’s preference for Parandur, 70 km from the state capital, over Pannur off the Chennai-Bengaluru highway was conveyed to the Union Government during a meeting between Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and state Industries Minister Thangam Thenarasu last week.</p>.<p>Though the state government hasn’t made any formal announcement, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Gen (retired) V K Singh on Monday told DMK Rajya Sabha MP, Kanimozhi N V N Somu, in a written answer that the greenfield airport will come up at Parandur.</p>.<p>The Tamil Nadu government had suggested four places -- Tirupporur, Parandur, Pannur, and Padalam – to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for Chennai’s second airport. The existing Meenambakkam airport is struggling to handle the ever-increasing rush despite modernisation plans by the AAI.</p>.<p>Gen Singh said AAI found two sites at Parandur and Pannur comparatively more feasible for development of airport and forwarded the Pre-Feasibility Report to Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Limited (TIDCO) advising it to carry out Obstacle Limitation Surface (OLS) survey and charting work at the two identified sites.</p>.<p>“After comparing the viability and feasibility including the presence of habitations and industrial establishments and the land acquisition cost of both the sites, the state government has shortlisted Parandur site as the location for development of Greenfield airport,” he told Rajya Sabha.</p>.<p>The state government will have to submit a proposal to the Civil Aviation Minister for grant of 'Site Clearance' for the finalised site. Railway connectivity – the nearest station Thirumalpur is just 9 km away – and availability of huge land parcels seem to have worked in favour of Parandur.</p>.<p>Thirumalpur is part of the Arakkonam-Chengalpattu railway line and an airport at Parandur will bring in massive development in the backward region.</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>The government’s 2006 plan to construct a greenfield airport in Sriperumbudur, an industrial hub just outside Chennai, did not take off due to a slew of factors, including opposition from PMK, which was an ally of the then DMK government. Efforts by the AIADMK government between 2011 and 2021 in this regard also did not fructify.</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>