The move to set up a second airport in Chennai is picking up speed. Parandur in Kancheepuram district, where Oragadam is located, is now being considered as the favorite site.
In fact, media reports noted that about 4,700 acres have been identified at Parandur and 12 adjoining villages and, so far, the initial findings don’t indicate any serious hurdles to the construction of an airport.
Parandur is just 1 hour and 35 mins via the Kancheepuram – Chengalpattu road from Oragadam where Chennai’s finest sports township, Hiranandani Parks, is spread across 400+ acres.
The proposed site is nearly 60 km from the existing airport and it will take a passenger about an hour and a half to travel from the Meenambakkam airport to Parandur.
A final clearance is required from the Airports Authority of India (AAI), which is likely to come in a week’s time, Chennai newspapers reported. The acquisition of land may pose some challenges as only 50 percent of the land is with the State government. The rest needs to be acquired.
Regarding the parameters required for the new airport, AAI is looking for a property that covers at least 2,500 acres for its operations, and which has a green cover and is easily accessible through all modes of transportation.
As the Tamil Nadu government has shown interest in constructing a second airport in Chennai, officials are looking at sites that are not far from the city or the existing Chennai International Airport at Meenambakkam.
A techno-feasibility study has to be done by AAI, which will look at a series of finer details and scrutinize every aspect involved with building an airport. This apart, once a site is finalized, there are many other approvals to be obtained, media reports added.
The new airport will be built in PPP mode which means a Public-Private Partnership model. Stay tuned for exciting updates on the project.