Govt identifies two sites for Chennai’s second airport construction

Pannur, a prospective site identified to construct Chennai’s second airport, has some advantages over Parandur, the other suggested site, according to a pre-feasibility study report.

The Pannur site seems to have more advantages over all the other locations. However, a detailed project report (DPR) has to be done for further evaluation.

The report, however, adds that both the sites are appropriate for the airport, though there are some challenges.

At Pannur, 4,500 acres of land have been identified, and at Parandur, the location is spread over 4,791.29 acres. Both places have sufficient space for two runways and have airspace availability. The report estimated the time a passenger would take to travel to both these locations.

The average travel distance to Pannur by road will be 49 km, and the average time taken will be about 1 hour and 26 minutes. The average distance to Parandur by road will be 73 km, and the average time taken to commute will be 1 hour and 54 minutes.

A team of experts from the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) and Airports Authority of India (AAI) inspected four sites — Padalam, Pannur, Tiruporur, and Parandur a few months ago, crafted the pre-feasibility report and gave its advice. Later, authorities discussed the problems with the State government.

A high-level meeting between a State team led by Industries Minister Thangam Thennarasu and Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya M Scindia is planned to be held in New Delhi on June 17, to discuss several key problems, including the location of the city’s second airport.

Sources said there are man-made barriers in both locations. For instance, in Pannur, there are extra high tension towers, mobile towers, and electrical poles.

At Parandur, high tension towers and mobile towers are noticed in and near the site, the report says.

But it is necessary to note that the impact of such hindrances on the operations is not understood yet. The team will have to do a detailed Obstacle Limitation Surface (OLS) survey for the location selected. These high-tension pylons, towers, and the other structures noticed are not falling in the approach path from what we have examined so far. But the obstacles can be shifted to other areas after a detailed study is done.

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Also read: OLS Survey to be held at two sites for second airport in Chennai