Chennai: The proposal to establish an airport at Hosur, an industrial town on Tamilnadu-Karnataka border, is finally seeing some momentum on the ground.
Tamilnadu Industrial Development Corporation Ltd has issued a Request for Proposal to select a consultant. Located close to Bengaluru, Hosur is home to major manufacturing industries including Ashok Leyland, Titan, TVS Motors, Ola, Caterpillar, Sundaram Fasteners and Schaffler,
‘TIDCO has called for consultants to conduct a feasibility study on identifying a location for an airport in Hosur. The study will take a detailed look into all factors,’ Pankaj Kumar Bansal, Chairman and Managing Director of TIDCO, said.
According to multiple reports, the Tamilnadu government recently signed an MoU with the Ministry of civil aviation to launch low cost-air services from the Hosur Aerodrome (so far a private airfield maintained by Taneja Aerospace and Aviation). The airfield is currently used by private chartered flights and by the Aeronautical Development Establishment of the Defence Research and Development Organisation for testing unmanned aerial vehicles.
The Union government, it is said, has granted approval for use of the Hosur airport under the UDAN scheme meant to improve regional connectivity. Hosur is under the lens as it is fast emerging as a hub for electric scooters and their accessories like batteries, and the government feels an airport is essential for the hub since it is a favoured investor destination.
Tamilnadu already has four international airports at Chennai, Coimbatore, Tiruchi and Madurai and two domestic airports at Thoothukudi and Salem. Considering the traffic growth and major demand drivers such as industrial growth, regional economic growth, tourism, growth in per capita incomes, in the north-west region of Tamilnadu, the State government intends to develop an airport in Hosur.