TIDCO extends deadline to select consultant for Chennai's second airport

For building the second airport in Chennai, the Tamil Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) has extended its deadline up to June for consultants to submit their bids for assisting the state agency in building the proposed airport. TIDCO in its advertisement seeking for consultant stated that the order was for a techno-economic feasibility study for the project, identification of sites for development of new greenfield airport near Chennai, and for preparing a detailed project report. That said, the consultant is also expected to assist TIDCO in obtaining statutory clearances and selection of a developer for the project. Earlier, the bid was decided to be closed by April 1. However, the last date has now been extended to June. Reports suggest that the decision of extending the deadline has come on account of internal reasons considering the size of the project. Reportedly, many infrastructure developers have showed interest in the proposed airport in Chennai. As per the Request for Proposal document, which was given out by the TIDCO in February this year, Chennai is the fourth busiest airport in the country, and making a second airport will be a strong business case for the southern metropolis. Tamil Nadu boasts four international airports – Chennai, Coimbatore, Trichy and Madurai, and two domestic airports in Salem and Thoothukudi. According to the RFP document from TIDCO, Chennai airport has handled 20.36 million passengers in 2017-18, which constituted 6.7 per cent share in India’s total aircraft movement in 2017-18. Also, it has recorded a 16.3 per cent  growth in terms of freight handling in 2017-18.