Updated 26 October 2026. This is the latest step since our 12 October guide (Parandur Airport Status and Chennai Peripheral Ring Road (2026)). Below: the timeline, what the state is waiting for, and what plot buyers in either belt should and should not read into it.
Chennai second airport timeline, August to October 2026
- 24 August: Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay told the Assembly the Parandur project would be abandoned, citing agricultural land, waterbodies, flooding and the impact on residents (DT Next, 7 October 2026).
- Before the decision, about 1,802 of the roughly 5,846 acres needed at Parandur had been acquired, and the project was costed at about ₹27,400 crore (Aviation A2Z, 5 October 2026).
- 25 August: Andhra Pradesh minister Nara Lokesh said a Sri City airport proposal is not under consideration (NDTV, via Verified.RealEstate).
- 5 September: Tamil Nadu shortlisted Cheyyur and Gummidipoondi (The Hindu, via Verified.RealEstate).
- 16 to 17 September: reports said the state was focusing on Cheyyur, and that it had emerged as the likely site (Times of India; Swarajya; both via Verified.RealEstate). Neither is an official selection.
- 7 October: TIDCO's RTI reply confirmed Parandur was dropped, that AAI had been informed, and that preliminary technical and field studies had begun, with no site confirmed (DT Next).
- 25 October: the state was awaiting the Centre's reply to two letters, one from August asking that AAI be replaced as operator of the existing airport, and one from September seeking a pre-feasibility study on Gummidipoondi and Cheyyur (The Hindu, via Verified.RealEstate).
Where are Cheyyur and Gummidipoondi?
Cheyyur is south of Chennai in Chengalpattu district, inland from the East Coast Road beyond Mamallapuram. Manellore is near Gummidipoondi in Tiruvallur district, in the north on the Chennai–Kolkata highway towards the Andhra Pradesh border (district names from DT Next, 7 October 2026). They pull in opposite directions: one would favour the southern ECR and GST belt, the other the northern industrial corridor.
AAI had earlier assessed Parandur, Pannur, Padalam and Thiruporur before Parandur was chosen (DT Next, 7 October 2026), which shows how long a site decision can take even after a shortlist.
What happens next, and how long could it take?
The next formal step is a pre-feasibility study, which depends on the Centre's response. After that would come site selection, approvals and land acquisition. No authority has published a timeline, and none of the sources we read give acreage, cost or a target year for either site. Anyone quoting an opening year for a Cheyyur or Gummidipoondi airport is guessing.
Meanwhile the existing airport is where near-term change is happening: a Terminal 5 was announced on 25 August 2026 and is at the planning stage (Verified.RealEstate tracker); see also Chennai Airport New Terminal Opening Date: Now April 2027 for the new terminal timeline.
Should you buy plots near Cheyyur or Gummidipoondi now?
Not on the airport alone. Parandur shows the risk: land around it was marketed on the airport for years, and the project was dropped with less than a third of the land acquired (our arithmetic from Aviation A2Z's figures: 1,802 ÷ 5,846 ≈ 31%). A shortlist is not a decision.
- Buy only what makes sense without the airport: present road access, jobs within commuting range and a clear DTCP- or CMDA-approved layout.
- Be wary of layouts advertised as 'airport-facing' or 'next to the new airport'; no site is notified.
- If the airport does come, land inside the eventual acquisition boundary is acquired, not sold at a premium. Proximity is not always a gain.
- Check TNRERA registration for layouts and verify approval on the DTCP or CMDA site.
What about land around Parandur?
With the project withdrawn, the reason most buyers paid a premium there has gone. We have no reliable price data for the Parandur belt after August 2026 and will not guess. Owners deciding whether to hold or sell should look at what the land is useful for today, its zoning and its road access.
