Hosur airport location set to be revealed soon, feasibility report clears both sites
In a further sign of progress, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has submitted a draft feasibility report to the Tamil Nadu government after evaluating the two short-listed sites for the airport and finding them both suitable, as reported by The Hindu recently.;
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CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu’s Industries Minister TRB Rajaa recently reassured the State Assembly that active efforts were underway to establish an airport in Hosur and that the government would announce its location very soon. He was responding to concerns raised by AIADMK legislator Sellur K Raju in the House on March 18.
In a further sign of progress, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has submitted a draft feasibility report to the Tamil Nadu government after evaluating the two short-listed sites for the airport and finding them both suitable, as reported by The Hindu recently. However, the report noted that studies, including an assessment of obstacles around the airfield, need to be conducted for the detailed report and to finalise the site.
Out of the five sites that were identified last year for the setting up of the greenfield airport, two were earmarked — one about 1.5 km from the private airstrip in Belagondapalli operated by Pune-based Taneja Aerospace and Aviation Limited (TAAL), and the other around 15.5 km near Ulagam, approximately 15.5 km east of Hosur and north of Shoolagiri.
Once the site is finalised, one of the next crucial steps is getting a green signal from the Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL), as per the concessionaire agreement signed with the Ministry of Civil Aviation. It mandates that no other international airport can be set up within 150 km of aerial distance from Bengaluru until 2033. However, it would still take around 8 years to set up the airport at Hosur, as per reports.
Additionally, the Tamil Nadu government has to get permission from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and the Ministry of Defence which controls the TAAL airfield in Hosur.
The Hosur airport plan was announced by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on the floor of the Assembly last year. The facility is expected to handle 30 million passengers annually in comparison to the Chennai airport which saw under 22 million passengers in 2023. Hosur is home to both traditional industries like automobile and sunrise sectors like automobile and sunrise sectors like electronics manufacturing. Another airport too has been proposed in the region which when operational will become Bengaluru’s second airport.
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