CHENNAI: We The Leaders founder K Annamalai opposed the TVK government’s decision to cancel the proposed Parandur airport project, warning that identifying an alternative site and obtaining approvals could delay Chennai’s second airport by another decade.“Even if the TN govt chooses to move forward with a second airport instead of Parandur through an administrative decision soon, finding a site, taking approval from the Union govt and statutory bodies, issuing tenders, acquiring land, and securing licenses could take at least ten years before the airport becomes operational,” he said.Annamalai said the state should urgently identify an alternative location, pointing out that Chennai’s existing airport was already inadequate in terms of capacity and infrastructure.“Chennai was once the gateway of south India. Today, Chennai airport ranks 5th in total passenger-handling capacity,” he said, adding that the airport’s limited land area and inadequate taxiways and aerobridges prevented it from being classified as a Code F airport capable of handling aircraft such as the A380.He said delaying the second airport would impose a significant opportunity cost on Tamil Nadu as other states continued to expand their aviation infrastructure.Annamalai also questioned the fate of the land already acquired for the Parandur project. “What does the state govt now intend to do with this acquired land?” he asked, referring to reports that around 1,700 acres had been acquired against the 5,746 acres required for the project.“Parties may come and go. Govts will change. But 20 years later, when the people of Tamil Nadu look back, they should not feel suffocated by a sick building that we would still call an airport, because the administrators of the day lacked the ability to forecast,” he said.
