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The Tamil Nadu government has said that it would not close down the existing Chennai airport after the proposed new one comes up, the State’s Industry Minister, Thangam Thennarasu, has said. Speaking at a conference on the proposed greenfield airport, Thennarasu noted that Bengaluru and Hyderabad had closed down their old airports after the new ones came up. However, the existing airport at Meenambakkam in Chennai will co-exist with the greenfield airport being planned at Parandur, he said.
The minister allayed the fears of local people in and around Parandur that the airport project might affect them and assured them that their interests would be taken care of.
The minister said that as the existing airport will saturate in the next 10 years, there is a necessity to have a greenfield airport. The project is also critical for the State to achieve the $1 trillion economy target set by Chief Minister MK Stalin, he said.
Only option
The conference was on the theme ‘Greenfield Airport: Timely Initiative to Fast Tract TN’s Growth’ and was organized by the Madras Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Ltd.
The existing airport cannot be extended as doing that would require 400 acres of land. The airport is surrounded by Defence land, Adyar river, a hillock and a dense habitat. The airport can only be upgraded, he said.
The State government along with the Airports Authority of India identified 11 sites across the State before deciding on Parandur. There were many challenges in identifying the locations. There are sensitive locations like the Kalpakkam nuclear reactor and the Airforce base in Tambaram; and eco-sensitive sites like Vedanthangal and Pulicat sanctuaries. Considering the sensitivity of these locations, Parandur in the west was identified as the best location. There are some challenges, including the presence of water bodies, in Parandur, he added.
Necessity for new airport
The existing airport cannot cater to the requirements of future demand. It is not completely equipped or geared up. There is certainly a need for a new greenfield airport to take care of future demands. The existing airport currently handles 22 million passengers annually, and will increase up to 100 million by 2038. After that it will saturate, thus necessitating a new airport, he said.
Industry secretary S Krishnan said that major cities Tokyo and Taipei have two airports. Chennai can also have two airports. However, connectivity to the new airport, and between the old and new airports need to be addressed. Talks will be held with the Chennai Metro to look at connectivity to the new airport, he said.
Mallika Srinivasan, CMD, TAFE Ltd and a Member of Tamil Nadu Planning Commission, said the greenfield airport is an important development for the State. An airport that is well-located and integrated into a larger, multi-modal hub is a life changing development. The greenfield airport is a long awaited initiative, she said.
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