All parties are keen on a second airport for Chennai, but identifying a massive land parcel for a greenfield project will pose a mammoth challenge.
m/@CMOTamilnadu
The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government on August 24 announced the cancellation of the Parandur greenfield airport project, fulfilling one of the TVK’s election promises.
Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, who had visited the site ahead of the 2026 Assembly election, had promised farmers of the area that the project would be abandoned if the TVK was voted to office. Just over three months after the TVK came to power, he announced in the Assembly that the project stood cancelled. He also said that the government would build a new greenfield airport in a different location.
On August 25, Industries Minister S. Keerthana announced that the government was planning to set up a new international airport near Chennai. Alternative locations for setting up this new airport would be identified in consultation with experts, she said.
Earlier that day, farmer’s representatives from the affected villages in Parandur met the Chief Minister and thanked him for cancelling the project. After the meeting, G. Subramanian, president of Parandur Greenfield Airport Opposition Joint Movement, said that he handed over a small sheaf of paddy to Vijay. “The Chief Minister has saved us… we are very happy,” he said.