Hosur airport: Tamil Nadu floats bid to select DTER consultant

Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday floated bids to select a consultant to prepare a Detailed Techno-Economic Report(DTER) to develop a greenfield airport for the industrial city of Hosur in the Krishnagiri district, within weeks of applying for site clearance for the ambitious project. 

The consultant, to be chosen by the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO), would be expected to prepare the report — including surveys, master planning, financial modelling, obtaining mandatory clearances, and bid process management for the proposed site.

The move comes after the state government identified about 2,300 acres of land in the Hosur-Berigai- Bagalur-Shoolagiri quadrilateral in the Krishnagiri district for the airport.

While the process of preparing a Land Development Plan is still underway, TIDCO applied to the Union Civil Aviation Ministry for site clearance this month — the first of the many approvals needed. 

“We will start acquiring the land needed for the project once the GO [government order] is issued,” a senior government official told DH.

The chosen location is close to the Tamil Nadu section of the Bengaluru Satellite Town Ring Road (STRR).

The TN government plans to build a single-runway airport with a capacity to handle 3 crore passengers a year.

The government believes the new airport would also attract freight traffic, as Hosur houses over 500 industries and about 3,000 MSME units. 

The development comes amid Karnataka's assertions that it would choose a location in South Bengaluru to build a second airport for the city. The Hosur airport will also benefit people from South Bengaluru due to its proximity. 

With the construction for the airport expected to take about six to seven years, provided all the necessary permissions are in place, the study will take the 2030-31 fiscal as the base year for the Hosur airport vis-à-vis growth trends and subsequent projections on the demand and supply scenario.