In a significant development, the Tamil Nadu government has shortlisted two sites for Chennai’s second airport and has asked the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to conduct a pre-feasibility study. The move comes nearly a week after Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay announced that the State government will drop the greenfield airport project planned at Parandur and will look for alternative sites. 

The Hindu was the first to report that two sites—Cheyyur and Gummidipoondi—are the top contenders for the project. It is now learnt that the State government has asked AAI to study Cheyyur in Chengalpattu district and Manellore, near Gummidipoondi, in Tiruvallur district. Sources said that a final decision will be taken after the AAI gives its recommendation in the pre-feasibility report.

A team from Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) has already completed the first round of inspections for both the sites.

Sources said the Cheyyur site is about 40 km from the Puducherry airport and nearly 35 km from Kalpakkam. It is also nearly 100 km from the existing airport at Meenambakkam. The Manellore site is about 50 km from the city and 35 km from Sriharikota.

Sources said that even if AAI recommend one of the two sites, there could be some difficulty in getting the remaining approvals from various regulatory bodies, given the location of both sites. “While there is possibility for Cheyyur, provided the Ministry of Defence gives clearance, since the Indian Air Force, Tambaram, controls the airspace in the region. But Manellore in Gummidipoondi has some challenges,” a source said.

As the next step, a team of AAI officials will visit both sites and carry out an inspection, after which the report will be drafted. It is expected that AAI will submit the report in a few months. “The State government wants to start the process on the second airport soon. It will help if AAI speeds up and gives the report at the earliest,” another source said. 

But another source pointed out that even if the State government wants to build the second airport soon, it may have to wait for a minimum of 5-7 years to make this project a reality.

An unidentified gang allegedly broke open an Axis Bank ATM using a welding machine and escaped with ₹11.5 lakh at Gummidipoondi in Tiruvallur district.

The ATM centres of Axis Bank and Indian Overseas Bank are located in adjacent buildings on the bypass road in Ma. Po. Si. Nagar, Gummidipoondi. A customer who visited the Axis Bank ATM to withdraw cash found the machine damaged and alerted the police.

On reaching the spot, the police found that the miscreants had used a welding machine to break open the ATM and take away the cash. They had also sprayed black paint on the CCTV cameras before carrying out the robbery.

According to the bank management, ₹12 lakh had been loaded into the ATM on Tuesday of which ₹11.5 lakh was reportedly stolen. The gang also attempted to break open the nearby Indian Overseas Bank ATM but failed and fled the scene.

The SIPCOT police have formed a special team and launched a search to trace the gang.

A mineral recovery plant was inaugurated in Gummidipoondi last week. The Bridge Green Upcycle has set up a 7,200 metric tonne per annum circularity centre for critical mineral recovery from lithium-ion batteries. 

Saidapet MLA, M. Arul Prakasam, in the inauguration address, praised Bridge Green’s circularity mission of setting up this mineral recovery plant in the industrial belt of Gummidipoondi. 

Gummidipoondi MLA S. Vijayakumar along with Thiru Srinivasan, CEO of Centre of Excellence in Advanced Automotive Research, also participated in the inaugural function.