Chennai may soon get a second aiport at Mamandur, report claims AAI has already cleared site for greenfield project

Chennai may soon get its second airport in Mamandur, 80 kilometres south of the city, if a private developer’s proposal gets the final nod from the government, The Times of India has reported. According to the report, developer Gigi George has confirmed that the Airports Authority of India (AAI) cleared the site after inspection. [caption id=“attachment_4325381” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Chennai airport. Wikimedia Commons[/caption] George was quoted as having added that the greenfield airport will come up on 3,500 acres at an investment of Rs 4,500 crore. A Special Purpose Vehicle, called Taking Off To The Future Private Ltd, has been formed to execute the project. George had earlier proposed to set up a greenfield airport in Aranmula in Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district. However, the Kerala government cancelled the project citing environmental issues. The proposed complex will be 1.4 lakh square metre in phase one, 2.75 lakh square metre in phase two and 1.35 lakh square metre in phase three. It will house hotels, a convention centre and a township. It will also have two runways. Meanwhile, the existing airport in Meenambakkam handles nearly 20 to 21 million passengers a year. The Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) has invited proposals from consultants for conducting techno-economic feasibility studies, identifying sites and preparing a detailed project report plans to develop the airport in three phases with each phase capable of handling 20 million passengers a year, the report said.