Location for Hosur airport to be finalised on fast-track mode: TN Minister
Out of five sites suggested by the Tamil Nadu government last year, two were short-listed.
Representative Image; Industries Minister TRB Raaja
CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government has fast-tracked the process of finalising a location for the proposed Hosur airport and is awaiting the Airports Authority of India’s detailed feasibility report on the two shortlisted sites, as reported by Deccan Herald.
A source told DH that Industries Minister TRB Raaja who attended an industry associations meet in Hosur reiterated the Tamil Nadu government’s commitment to build the airport, which was announced by Chief Minister MK Stalin on the floor of the Assembly last year.
Out of five sites suggested by the Tamil Nadu government last year, two were short-listed. Their pros and cons are being surveyed in detail by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
Earlier media reports had stated that one of the sites being studied is located 1.5 km from the private airstrip in Belagondapalli operated by Pune-based Taneja Aerospace and Aviation Limited (TAAL). The other site for the proposed airport is near Ulagam, approximately 15.5 km east of Hosur and north of Shoolagiri.
Among the challenges in setting up the Hosur airport include the concessionaire agreement between the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL) which states 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.
Speaking about the concessionaire issue, Union Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu had recently in the Rajya Sabha suggested that the Tamil Nadu government, the BIAL and the Union government should sit across a table and discuss the matter.
Additionally, the Tamil Nadu government has to get permissions from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Ministry of Defence which controls the TAAL airfield in Hosur.
Announced in June last year, the upcoming Hosur airport 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.
Trial runs for TTRO plant in Hosur soon: Minister
Meanwhile, in yet another boost of support to industries in Hosur, Minister TRB Raaja on Saturday announced that 70 percent of work was completed on SIPCOT’s 20 MLD Tertiary Treatment Reverse Osmosis plant in Kelavarapalli.
The TTRO plant would provide water supply to major industrial parks, including Hosur Phases 1 & 2, Shoolagiri Phase 1, and the proposed Phase 2, with provisions for supply to future industrial expansions in the region, he said during a visit to the plant.
“Being built at a cost of Rs. 182 crore, the plant will secure water supply for industries in the region and drive sustainable growth.
With 72% of the project completed, most of the civil works are done and equipment installation is set to begin soon. Trial runs will commence in the coming months, and we expect the plant to go online in the second half of 2025,” the minister detailed in a post on social media platform X.
