Kancheepuram may get Chennai's second International Airport

If DMK Government in Tamil Nadu gets things going in its way, the city of Kancheepuram may get its first International Airport. The Airport modernization and expansion plan as proposed by Tamil Nadu Government has shifted focus to Kancheepuram after running into difficulties in acquiring land in Meenambakkam( where the present domestic and International airports are located).
Situated at 70 KM from Heart of the city, the temple town will be a obvious choice for the Airport. Many companies located in National Highway 4 (Chennai – Bangalore) could be highly benefited by this decision. The list includes Nokia, Dell, Hyundai, Saint Gobain and a still growing list. With NH4 Being converted to a three lane road as a part of Golden quadrilateral the journey from city might not take much time. This will also help the city’s companies and population expand gradually towards Kancheepuram and Vellore.




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Non-availability of encumbrance-free land a stumbling block

T.S. Shankar

There is no visible sign of Chennai getting a new airport




CHENNAI: Representatives of the Union Civil Aviation Ministry and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) have been holding a series of meetings with top ranking bureaucrats in Tamil Nadu to identify suitable encumbrance-free land for the Chennai airport expansion.

The previous AIADMK government had opted for a Greenfield airport in Chennai and announced its decision to acquire 1457.5 acres of land on the northern side of the existing main runway. But the DMK, the BJP, the CPI (M) and the local residents launched a series of protests. The proposed expansion work was then put on hold after the Madras High Court ordered a stay.

After the DMK was voted to power, Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, Union Ministers-- Dayanidhi Maran, T.R. Baalu, G.K. Vasan--met the Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Praful Patel, and impressed upon him the need to take up modernisation of the Chennai airport. With the encumbrance free land acquisition becoming a stumbling block, there is no visible sign of Chennai getting a new airport.

While sources in the Tamil Nadu Government are pushing for the expansion of the existing airport instead of a Greenfield airport, a clearer picture on the exact location is expected only after the State Government zeroes in on the land for further development of the airport.

Immediate option


Construction of a second runway to run parallel to the existing main runway on the other side of Adyar river with a new passenger terminal building constructed between the two runways seems to be the immediate option before the Tamil Nadu Government as recommended in a techno-feasibility report prepared by the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation when the DMK was in power between 1996 and 2001.

According to highly placed sources in the Civil Aviation Ministry, two other sites--Oragadam on the GST road and Sriperumbudur were suggested by the DMK Government for constructing a new airport. But, the Civil Aviation Ministry has conveyed that two airports in Chennai would not be feasible and a Greenfield airport would be viable only if the existing airport is closed.

The hurdles confronting the AAI authorities in Chennai and the Tamil Nadu Government are complex in nature since there were other major restrictions such as Indian Air Force station in Tambaram, the INS Rajali Naval Air Base in Arakonam, an arterial highway running parallel to the existing airport, besides a St. Thomas Mount hillock on the flight path and another hill (near Tirusoolam railway station) with a firing range.

The Tamil Nadu Government has also decided not to displace residents on the Pozhichalur, Gowl Bazaar and other nearby areas.


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Chennai airport revamp likely at existing site

Ashwini Phadnis

Consultant plumps for expansion instead of new airport

Airport modernisation
Kirkpatrick proposal may be preferred as it does not require any diversion of Adyar river.
The State has always shown interest in a greenfield airport, in addition to existing one.
It had short listed two sites, one at Oraguddam village and the other near Sriperambadur.

New Delhi , Dec. 22

The modernisation of Chennai airport is likely to be done at the existing site instead of a greenfield airport coming up at one of the two sites that had been identified jointly by the State Government and Airports Authority of India (AAI).

Sources indicated that the expansion of Meenambakkam Airport is likely to see the construction of a second runway on the other side of Adyar river and a new terminal building being constructed between the two runways.

This is in keeping with an earlier recommendation made by Scot Wilson Kirkpatrick, consultants appointed by Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation .

One of the reasons why the Kirkpatrick proposal may be preferred over other options is because it does not require any diversion of the Adyar river, which would not only be technically difficult but also time consuming, sources indicated.

Expansion preferred

While sections in the Government are said to favour the expansion of the existing airport over a greenfield project, a clearer picture on the exact route to be followed is likely to emerge only after the State Government looks into the issue of land acquisition required for development of Meenambakkam Airport.

The State Government has always shown interest in a greenfield airport coming up in Chennai in addition to existing airport and had short listed two sites, one at Oragadam village and the other near Sriperumbudur.

Sources indicated that the Oragadam village site was considered a better option for a variety of reasons, including the availability of 5,000 acres of land and little requirement of rehabilitation and resettlement as the area was seeing a lot of industrial activity.

However, the Centre has expressed the opinion that having two airports in Chennai would not be feasible and a greenfield airport would be viable only if the existing airport is shut down.

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More private carriers may be allowed to fly abroad: Praful Patel

Special Correspondent

Government to set up high-power committee to review norms, says Praful Patel

# Only Jet Airways, Air Sahara operate on international routes
# Gulf sector reserved for Indian, Air India till 2008

NEW DELHI: The Government is likely to set up a high-power committee to review the policy on allowing private domestic carriers to mount international flights, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said here on Thursday.

Talking to reporters, he said the committee would undertake a detailed review to ascertain if the present norms — experience of five years and a fleet strength of 20 aircraft — for private carriers to fly abroad should be diluted. The panel would keep in mind the rapidly changing civil aviation scenario and the growing passenger traffic.

"We will set up a committee in the first half of next year to have a review of the policy and whether to amend or relax it to overcome the shortage of services to various global destinations," Mr. Patel said.

While Jet Airways and Air Sahara operate on international routes, other players such as Air Deccan and Kingfisher Airlines have expressed their desire to fly abroad. Also, the Gulf sector has been reserved for Indian and Air India till 2008.

Defending the present policy, Mr. Patel said the requirements of Indian carriers were different from those of other airlines. On the merger of Indian and Air India, he said the Committee of Secretaries had submitted its recommendations to the Group of Ministers headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

On the modernisation of the Chennai airport, he said the Tamil Nadu Government would have to decide on the availability of land. "Nothing is ruled out. If there is land, we may even go in for a new greenfield airport in Chennai."

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No land, so Chennai airport can’t be expanded like Delhi’s, build new: Centre

Pranab Dhal Samanta

Posted online: Thursday, December 14, 2006 at 0000 hrs IST

NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 13
The Civil Aviation Ministry has made it clear to Tamil Nadu government that restructuring of Chennai airport on the lines of the ones in Delhi and Mumbai is not possible with the available land and that the state must look at setting up a new greenfield airport there.

This has been conveyed to the top DMK leaders after the Karunanidhi government could not give a commitment to acquire 583 hectares occupied by slums around the Chennai airport. Given that such a promise could snowball into a political controversy, the only option now left for the state is to draw up a plan for a brand new airport, as in Bangalore and Hyderabad.

The other option is to have a new terminal complex and convert the current one into a low-cost terminal. This, however, does not assure space for additional runways and taxiways, which is where the real expansion would be needed in the years ahead. With Kolkata opting out of the model followed in Delhi and Mumbai, a limited expansion just for Chennai may not be enough to attract world-class players.

DMK leaders, especially Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran, have been lobbying hard with the Centre to upgrade and modernise the Chennai airport in the footsteps of Delhi and Mumbai. The Committee on Infrastructure had, in fact, given an in-principle nod to proceed on these lines for both Kolkata and Chennai. But initially, there was delay after the Left objected to Kolkata airport being pushed in this direction and then, the issue of clearing slums around Chennai airport that the DMK government is now finding difficult to do.

Also, having encountered strong Left opposition to the modenisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports, the Civil Aviation Ministry is keen to steer clear of any controversy in the case of Chennai. Given that the Left and DMK have come together in the past on the partial divestment of Neyveli Lignite, sources said, the DMK can help offset Left pressure against the restructuring of Chennai airport. It may, however, be noted that Left is not against greenfield airports which clearly makes the new option that much more attractive. The ball in now in Tamil Nadu government’s court.

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Ministry asks TN for fresh proposal for Chennai airport

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ THURSDAY, DECEMBER 07, 2006 08:00:55 PM]

NEW DELHI: Civil Aviation Ministry has asked the Tamil Nadu government to come with a fresh proposal after the state authorities were conveyed about the inability to carry out modernisation of the Chennai airport without proper land area. The Tamil Nadu government has informed the avitaion ministry that it would come up with a fresh proposal within the next fortnight, civil aviation Praful Patel told reporters in New Delhi. The state government proposal will detail the availability of land that is required for the expansion and modernisation of the airport.

Mr Patel met the communications and information technology minister Dayanidhi Maran, the Lok Sabha MP from Cenral Chennai constituency, to discuss the Chennai airport modernisation plan. The government would decide on due course of the airport modernisation after receving the final report from Tamil Nadu, Mr Patel said.

He said any modern airport should have parallel runway but the state government had informed that it does not want to displace people living around the airport area. The state government will come back to the ministry in next fortnight on how progress can be made by at least having a parallel runway, which is must under the new international standard guidelines, Patel said.

The state government has favoured the modernisation of Anna International Airport in Chennai on the basis of private-public partnership along the lines for Delhi and Mumbai airports. The civil aviation minstry would embark upon the modernisation process after reaching a mutually agreed decision with the state government. For the modernisation of these two metro airports, as a first step, the government has floated bids to appoint global advisors.

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A blogger discusses about the plight of POZHICHALUR residents.

Thank You,Mr Prabu Karthik

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Save Pozhichalur -1

Save Pozhichalur-2

New site for Chennai airport expansion

Chennai, Dec 7: The Tamil Nadu government is considering a new site, a few kilometres away from the Chennai airport, for expansion of the airport, Chief Minister M Karunanidhi told the State Assembly yesterday.


Replying to CPI floor leader V Sivapunniyam, who said thousands of people near the Chennai airport would be displaced if the present plans for the airport expansion was carried out, Karunanidhi said the government had not finalised any such plan.


Some people would be affected if a good measure was done for the public. However, in this case, the government was considering a new site, a few kilometres away from the airport, so that many people would not be affected.


Raising the issue, Sivapunniyam said thousands of people would lose their houses and several buildings including temples and churches should have to be demolished, if the airport was expanded.(Our Correspondent)


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Alternative land for airport plan: CM

NT Bureau
Chennai, Dec 6:

Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today assured that alternative land would be allotted for the airport expansion and urged the locals (of Pozhichalur, Pammal areas) not to believe the rumours floating around.

Intervening during the speech of CPI MLA Sivapunniyam, who stated that the residents of Kowl Bazaar, Pammal and Anakaputhur are reeling under fear that their houses would be taken over for airport expansion, the Chief Minister said efforts had already begun to locate alternative lands away from the residential settlements.

Karunanidhi further said that some middlemen, for their personal gains, have let loose rumours that their colonies would be taken for airport expansion. 'People should be vigilant and should not believe such rumours. There is not even an iota of truth in them,' he said.

Earlier, Siva Punniyam urged the State government to locate land away from the residential settlements in the locality for the airport expansion.

It may be recalled that residents of Kowl Bazaar, Anakaputhur, Pammal staged fast on Monday to show their protest against airport expansion.


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Into fast: Residents protesting against airport expansion
in Chennai. Photo: B Anand

The Struggle Committee, with a view to drawing the attention of the Tamilnadu government during the winter session of State Assembly to the Chennai airport expansion issue, today staged a fast protesting the expansion move.

It may be noted that thousands of dwellings in and around Pammal, Anakaputhur, Pozhichalur and Gowl Bazaar would be affected following the Chennai International Airport expansion plan. Agitated over this, the residents formed a struggle committee and staged several demonstrations protesting against the acquisition of land for the expansion.

On 26 November, a meeting was convened drawing leaders from different political parties, traders and representatives from residents welfare associations to voice their protest in unison against the government's move on land acquisition.

The meeting resolved to stage a relay fast to focus the attention of the government during this winter session of State Assembly




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Residents fast against airport expansion
Tuesday December 5 2006 12:10 IST

CHENNAI: Continuing their efforts to protest against the airport expansion plan in Chennai, members of the Struggle Committee Against Expansion in Cowl Bazaar, Anakaputhur and Pozhichalur observed a fast at Pallavaram on Monday.

More than 500 residents, who participated in the fast, urged the government not to go ahead with the airport expansion.

B Kumar, secretary of the committee, said, ‘‘The expansion should not be done on the side which is populated. Many will be affected by the move.’’

The committee initially sought the permission of the police for a chain fast. ‘‘But they allowed us to fast only on one day,’’ explained Kumar.

However, similar fasts will be held at Pammal on December 7 and Anakaputhur on December 9.

The committee has also submitted memoranda to different political leaders.

‘‘We expect the issue to be discussed in the Assembly. But it is disheartening to know that the session is only for three days which means that many issues could not be discussed,’’ said Kumar.

Bharathi Kumar, chairman of Ankaputhur Municipality, and Mahendran, MLA from Perambur, extended support to the fast