CHENNAI: Airport Authority of India (AAI) and TN Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) will conduct a joint survey of six land parcels for further expansion of Chennai Airport, to meet the demand of 55 million passengers per annum (MPPA), according to Chennai Airport Director Dr Sharad Kumar.
This comes after the AAI has requested the Tamil Nadu government to acquire 306 acres of land to build an International terminal and cargo terminal on the other side of Adyar River. It is learnt a meeting was held with TIDCO officials recently to discuss the availability of land for the airport expansion.
The AAI has written a letter to the TN government to acquire the land parcels. RITES and Alexandra Richter ARC Consulting are conducting a feasibility study, which is likely to be completed in the next six months. This comes as the second phase of modernisation of the airport is likely to be completed by December 2024. This will enhance the capacity to 35 million passengers. The airport now caters to 22 million.
The existing cargo infrastructure would be modified for expanding the apron bays. The airport requires additional apron bays for aircraft to handle a projected 55 million passengers following the further airport expansion.
Currently, Chennai Airport, one of the largest in India, is functioning on only 1,317 acres of land, the smallest when compared with other major airports in India. The expansion also comes in the wake of the government acquiring land for the second Greenfield Airport. Chennai’s second airport, which would be set up in Parandur at an estimated cost of Rs 20,000 crore, is likely to handle 10 crore passengers per year.
Meanwhile, the work on Stage-1 of the second phase of Chennai Airport modernisation is expected to be completed by December 2022.