The in-principle approval for Parandur airport project is expected to be granted in April.

After this crucial clearance, Tamil Nadu government can take steps towards beginning the construction of the project. The Steering Committee meeting was held in New Delhi last week with officials from Tamil Nadu government, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Airports Authority of India and others and extensive discussions were held.

Officials from the Tamil Nadu government were tight-lipped about the meeting. But sources said, TN is awaiting minutes of the meeting from the Ministry of Civil Aviation sometime this week or early next week. “The approval may be granted in April,” said a source in New Delhi.

Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) has readied the tender documents, and it is likely to be floated shortly after the approval is given.

After the Airports Authority of India completed the feasibility study, three years back, the State government finally announced that Parandur would be the location of the second airport. In July 2024, the first stage of approval — site clearance — was given by the Ministry of Civil Aviation. For getting the second stage of approval, TIDCO sent the application to the Ministry of Civil Aviation a few weeks later, requesting for the in-principle approval.

If the State government manages to start construction next year, then, in five years the first phase of the project will be up and running for air passengers. This massive Rs 29,144 crore, Parandur airport project has been envisaged over 2,172.73 acres with two parallel runways in such a way that it can handle nearly 100 million passengers when all four phases are complete.

As the existing airport has been built over 1301.28 acres, there are quite a few challenges in expanding beyond a certain limit and the airport has also been facing criticisms in various aspects.