Tamil Nadu to finalise location for Hosur airport by April

Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government is expected to finalise by April the location for an airport being planned for the industrial city of Hosur with a detailed study of the two shortlisted sites by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) likely to be completed in a week’s time.

AAI is currently undertaking a detailed survey of two sites, including villages located close to the private airport owned by Taneja Aviation and Aerospace Limited (TAAL) in Belagondapalli near Hosur.

Once the AAI submits the report, the DMK dispensation in Tamil Nadu will discuss it threadbare and finalise the “best location” in terms of connectivity, land availability, and less problematic, sources aware of the development told DH.

“Less human habitation, less disturbances, no major water bodies in the vicinity, and the extent of availability of government land are some of the key factors that will help finalise the site location. We are expecting the AAI report will be detailed enough for us to take a call,” a source told DH.

The two sites being studied were shortlisted after a survey by AAI of five locations suggested by the Tamil Nadu government. “We will hopefully decide on the location by April,” another source added.

The development comes close on the heels of the Karnataka government scouting for land for a second airport for Bengaluru besides the effort to operationalise the HAL airport in the heart of the state capital.

While the airport will come up in Hosur, it is also likely to cater to the needs of people from South Bengaluru due to their proximity to the Tamil Nadu town. At the DH Bengaluru 2040 Summit on February 21, Air Deccan founder Captain G R Gopinath said Karnataka shouldn’t object to building of an airport in Hosur, whose economy he said was based on Bengaluru.

Sources said once the location is decided, the government will set in motion the process of acquiring land and applying for site clearance and in-principle approval from the Union Government for which the Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL) has to issue a No Objection Certificate (NOC).

A green signal from BIAL is necessary to build an airport in Hosur due to the concessionaire agreement signed between the airport operator and the Union Government that no such facility should come up within 150 km of the BIAL airport till 2030. Tamil Nadu has been in touch with BIAL and TAAL for the past few years before it made an announcement in June 2024 that a greenfield airport will be constructed in Hosur.

The new airport with a single runway for now will be built on an area of 2,000 acres.

In February, Union Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu proposed that the Tamil Nadu government, BIAL, and the Union Government sit across the table and take a decision on the issue of Hosur airport, while terming the concessionaire agreement as “tricky.”.

Recently, GMR’s Hyderabad International Airport granted one-time waiver of the exclusivity clause for building an aerodrome in Warangal district.