CHENNAI: The state government has urged the Airport Authority of India (AAI) to prepare a revised proposal on acquiring land for the expansion of Chennai airport, on the other side of the Adyar river. Earlier, the AAI had submitted a proposal to acquire 306 acres. The six land parcels for further expansion of Chennai airport lie in and around the Cowl Bazaar area. The state government conducted a survey and found the cost of acquiring the land too high.
According to sources in Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO), apart from the cost, a large number of families will be displaced due to the land acquisition and hence AAI was told to prepare a revised proposal.TIDCO sources told TNIE that the state has highlighted which land could be acquired and which could not be for the proposed expansion of the airport.
Airport director Dr Sharad Kumar confirmed that the AAI is reworking the proposal. “We are now looking at acquiring 158 acres of uninhabitable land so that the cost of acquisition is less. Only those land which is uninhabitable will be acquired,” said Dr Kumar. To a query on whether the availability of land being reduced to nearly half would impact the expansion, Dr Kumar said it is too early to tell, adding, “We are still working on the proposal.”
Chennai Airport plans to modify the existing cargo infrastructure and expand the apron bays. It requires additional apron bays for aircraft to handle a projected 55 million passengers. Chennai airport, one of the largest airports in India, is functioning on only 1,317 acres of land, the smallest when compared to other major airports.