Location identified for Hosur airport, says Tamil Nadu CM Stalin

Hosur: Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday announced that his government has identified a location in Krishnagiri district to build an airport for this burgeoning industrial city, located just outside Bengaluru. The Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) has set in motion the process of identifying and acquiring land for the ambitious project. 

Though Stalin did not mention the exact location in his speech at the TN Rising Investment Conclave here, it is believed that the airport will be built on about 2,200 acres between Bagalur and Berigai, northeast of Hosur. DH had reported on August 23 that the Tamil Nadu government has chosen Berigai-Bagalur for the Hosur airport, which is expected to handle about 3 crore passengers a year.

“We are attaching utmost importance to the Hosur airport project. I had announced (on June 27, 2024) that we will build a world-class international airport for Hosur. TIDCO is in the process of identifying and acquiring land near Hosur for the airport. This airport, when commissioned, will put Hosur on a new path of development,” Stalin said at the conclave.

Berigai-Bagalur was chosen as an Obstacle Limitation Surface (OLS) survey favoured the location over Belagondapalli, where a private airport operated by Taneja Aerospace and Aviation Limited (TAAL) is located.

The two sites were shortlisted from five locations initially studied by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) last year. An exclusive airport for Hosur has been a long-standing demand of industries in the city, who are confident that the project will be successful not only for passenger traffic, but also for freight.

A top government source told DH that the location was also chosen due to its proximity to the Tamil Nadu section of the Bengaluru Satellite Town Ring Road (STRR). The new airport will also be closer to many parts of Bengaluru and is located on the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border, benefiting people from both states.

The source added that TIDCO and the Krishnagiri district administration are currently preparing the Land Development Plan (LDP) for the project.

"The plan will identify the exact land requirement for the project and methods for acquisition. We require about 2,200 to 2,300 acres. Once this is complete, the plan will be sent to the government for administrative sanction, following which a Government Order (GO) will be issued,” the source said.

“Once the GO is issued, the land acquisition will begin," another source added, noting that at the same time, TIDCO will also start work on applying for site clearance for the project. The second source said the preliminary work will take about three months, after which land acquisition is expected to start.

Besides site clearance, Tamil Nadu needs a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL) due to the concessionaire agreement signed between the airport operator and the Union government that restricts new facilities within 150 km until 2033.

Since much of the airspace in Krishnagiri is controlled by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in Bengaluru, the state government wrote to the Defence Ministry in May seeking relaxation of airspace restrictions for commercial operations.

Since BIAL holds the key for the Hosur airport, the state government has been in touch with the firm for several years. Interestingly, Fairfax Financial Holdings, the majority stakeholder of BIAL, has shown interest in Hosur and Chennai airports, with the company’s Chairman and CEO, Prem Watsa, discussing the issue with Chief Minister Stalin in April.