A new greenfield airport will come up at Sriperumbudur and Tiruvallur taluks near Chennai, while there are expansion plans for the existing airport at Meenambakkam, according to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi.
The greenfield airport will be set up on 4,820.66 acres, while the expansion of the existing Meenambakkam airport would be taken up on 1,069.99 acres at an estimated cost of Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion).
Both the projects would be entrusted to the Airports Authority of India, Karunanidhi said.
The expansion of the existing airport will be carried out on 1,070 acres spread across Manapakkam, Kolapakkam, Kerugambakkam and Tharapakkam in Sriperumbudur taluk. The government would provide suitable compensation to 947 families living in these areas and ensure their quick rehabilitation, a government release said.
Karunanidhi said the government initially chose to take up the expansion in areas covering Pozhichalur, but felt it would lead to displacement of thousands of families.
"As the residents opposed the move, we decided to take up the expansion of the existing airport in the above areas," he said.
The expansion plans were announced by Karunanidhi after a resolutions was passed at a meeting of the legislative party leaders at the secretariat on Tuesday. He said all political parties, with the exception of the AIADMK, had supported plans for the expansion of the airport.
Industry and trade bodies have been urging the state government to take up airport expansion plans forthwith.
A Confederation of Indian Industry statement said passenger traffic at the Chennai airport was expected to increase by 20 to 30 per cent and reach 12-13 million by 2011 and cargo traffic was expected to increase by more than 20-25 per cent in the next four years.
The existing facilities are inadequate to handle this growth, the CII said.