The proposed second airport project at Parandur was announced in August 2022. Since then, people in and around the village have been protesting and voiced their concerns over the loss of agricultural land and the impact on the region’s ecological system. Although the state government offered compensation at 3.5 times the market value of the land and promised resettlement, the protests continued for nearly four years.
During his election campaign, Chief Minister C. Joaeph Vijay gave his word to the people of Ekanapuram that their land would be protected. Now, the time has come.
Also read: Parandur airport project is dropped, says CM Vijay
Even though the government has admitted that a second airport is the need of the hour, it has chosen to drop the Parandur plan, keeping the promise made by Vijay before the election. At the same time, the government, along with the Airports Authority of India (AAI), plans to expand the existing Meenambakkam airport. The Chief Minister said, “Once the ongoing Terminal 3 work is completed, the airport’s annual capacity would rise to 35 million passengers, and with Terminal 5, it would eventually reach 55 million passengers a year.” However, Terminal 3 itself is already facing delays due to construction-related challenges, raising questions on how easily another major terminal can be added.
Chennai Airport ranks fourth in India in terms of air cargo traffic. But, compared with airports in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad, Chennai Airport is two to three times smaller in size. Those airports are also equipped to handle larger aircraft under ICAO Code F standards, including aircraft such as the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747-8 freighter. Chennai, however, is not yet in that race. For a state that aims to build a $1.5 trillion economy by 2036, aviation infrastructure cannot be treated as a secondary requirement. A new airport has become an essential part of supporting the state’s future industrial and economic growth.
Also read: Chennai undeniably needs a second airport: CII
Another important issue the government may face is the risk of time and cost overruns. Every delay can increase the overall cost of a project and push its completion further into the future. The search for Chennai’s second airport began as early as 1999, and the proposed locations have changed multiple times. Each time, issues related to land acquisition and other clearances have delayed the project by years. Parandur was considered a strong option because of its proximity to the Chennai–Bengaluru highway and the Sriperumbudur industrial corridor. Citing the difficulties in finding a better alternative, Tamil Nadu’s former Chief Minister M. K. Stalin said on X that if the new government started all over again, identified another location and went through the entire process before construction could even begin, “Tamil Nadu’s growth trajectory itself will DROP.”
Also read: Cancellation of Parandur project a setback: CREDAI Chennai
Even though the new government has promised to find another location for the airport, the challenges will remain largely the same — proximity and connectivity to roads and railways, speedy land acquisition, minimal displacement and securing the necessary environmental approvals. The question, therefore, is not simply whether Chennai will get a second airport. It all depends on how quickly it can find a viable alternative and get the project moving. Every year lost in the search could mean another year lost in building the infrastructure needed to support Tamil Nadu’s next phase of growth. It is often said that good politics need not necessarily be good economics. And that raises a larger question: Can Tamil Nadu stay in the race with its competing states?
