CHENNAI: Chennai airport could be expanded across the Adyar River to handle 50 to 60 million passengers per annum (MPPA) and a masterplan will be prepared for this within six months, said airport director Dr Sharad Kumar.
The airport is looking to hire a consultant to prepare the masterplan for the next 50 years. “Airport expansion will happen parallelly, along with the proposed second airport,” he said. “Modernisation of the airport will enable it to handle 35 million passengers. It will be expanded later to handle 50 to 60 million passengers,” the director said. “We will build terminals and cargo complexes. We should have the handling capacity before demand peaks.”
Sources said the State government is clear that even if the city gets a new airport, the old one will function so investments are not wasted.Despite being one of India’s busiest airports, the Chennai airport, which is spread across 1,317 acres, is one of the smallest major airports in the country. The airport has two runways — the main one parallel to GST Road and the other one running perpendicular to it.
A portion of the secondary runway, built over Adyar River flood basin, triggered protests after the 2015 floods in Chennai. An inspection report submitted by a panel appointed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) said the Airports Authority of India did not violate any law in constructing the runway bridge across the river.
The panel was constituted after a petition was filed by Marvel River View County Owners Association stating that the original river width in the area was 130 metres and the bridge was 200 metres long. IIT-Madras experts also said the bridge piers will not have any noticeable impact on the river’s floodwater-carrying capacity.
Interestingly, the secondary runway was put to use simultaneously along with the primary runway before the Covid-19 pandemic. "During Covid, we did not use it. We are planning to use it in the next couple of months once air traffic increases," Dr Kumar said. "There will be simultaneous departures from both the runways, but arrivals will be allowed only on the main runway," he said.
The decision to expand the airport comes at a time when the State government is planning to build a second airport for Chennai and had zeroed in on four sites -- Parandur, Pannur, Thiruporur, and Padalam. The Centre has shortlisted Parandur and Pannur and sent back the file to the State. The two sites are less than 30km away from Sriperumbudur and Sunguvarchatiram. The State is yet to choose the site for the second airport.
According to sources, Chennai airport would soon get a new multi-level car parking (MLCP) and Rs 2,000-crore integrated terminal. "The trial run of the West MLCP facility will begin by end of this month. The trial run of the East MLCP will start next month after getting fire services and environmental clearance for 'Consent to Operate’," Dr Kumar said.
The new terminal is expected to be ready by August and may be put to use by October. "We will inaugurate it by August and will moot steps to integrate it with other terminal buildings. Multiple stakeholders, including airlines, are there. Everybody has to be onboard," he said
Meanwhile, domestic passenger traffic in the airport has almost reached pre-Covid levels, forcing authorities to operate additional taxiways. "Car parking capacity has been increased from 1,200 to 2,100. We are increasing capacity at all levels so that the airport is equipped to support increasing demand over the next 10 to 15 years," Dr Kumar said.