Madurai Airport Runway Expansion Stalled Since 2009, Chamber Seeks Urgent Action

In a bid to urge the Legislative Assembly Assurances Committee of the state government of Tamil Nadu to break the deadlock on the expansion of the airport runway at Madurai, which has 2009 been in the development process, the Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry has appealed. Earlier this week, a delegation of the chamber submitted a memorandum to MLA T. Velmurugan, the Committee Chairperson, wherein issues of significant delays and administrative lapses were highlighted.

There used to be a typical romp around the countryside on bicycles and the roadsides of Madurai. The circus was just about to start. The Madurai Airport runway expansion was stalled in 2009 with a request applied at a recent time by the Chamber of Commerce, which is imperative to note urgent action at this time, as far as it sounds.

The Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry has brought that appeal before the 15-year deadlock over expansion to raise Madurai airport’s runway. A memorandum was submitted by a delegation to the Committee Chairman and MLA T. Velmurugan on Friday.

Madurai Airport’s Runway Expansion Stalled since 2009, Chamber Urges Action.

True for Madurai, it may be possible to bring up that kind of circus. That Madurai circus was about to start. The Madurai Airport runway expansion was stalled in 2009 with a request applied at a recent time by the Chamber of Commerce, which is imperative to note urgent action at this time, as far as it sounds.

According to the Chamber, the project has been pending since 2009, suffers from significant land acquisition and planning issues. Of the 615.92 acres requested by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), only 528.65 acres have been acquired by the state government over a prolonged 13-year period. The remaining 87 acres continue to be in limbo.

The memorandum recalled Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s 2021 announcement in the Assembly, promising construction of an underpass on National Highway 45B to facilitate the airport expansion. However, Tamil Nadu Road Infrastructure Development Corporation (TNRIDC) officials allegedly revised an expert cost report, inflating the underpass estimate from ₹230 crore to ₹600 crore an action the Chamber labeled as “totally false.”

As a result, the underpass proposal, despite AAI’s approval, was dropped in 2022. Officials then pushed for a ₹200-crore alternate road project, which also failed after land acquisition was blocked by local farmers over 60 acres.

The chamber admonished that the abandonment of the approved underpass plan based on erroneous estimates not only derailed the expansion but also caused cost escalations and inconveniences to the public. Hence, the move is said to be a betrayal of user expectations as well as the long-term intentions of the project.

A call for urgent measures has been made by the Chamber, requesting the Assurances Committee to re-implement and sanction the initial underpass project to consummate the long-overdue airport development.

The expansion of Madurai airport is vital for the economic growth of the region as well as for better connectivity. With stakeholders eagerly awaiting decisive action, there is still much work ahead to launch the said project.