The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has given the 'No Objection' for the grant of site clearance for the greenfield airport at Parandur, Tamil Nadu. The state government has accorded administrative sanction for the new airport, which is situated about 60 km from Chennai in the Kanchipuram district.

An investment of Rs 20,000 crore is being planned to develop a greenfield airport, with the aim to handle 10 crore people annually. The upcoming airport will have two runways, terminal buildings, taxiways, an apron, and a cargo terminal. As of now, the Chennai airport handles around 2.2 crore people annually. After the ongoing modernisation work, it can handle 3.5 crore people a year for the next seven years.

On 11 April, 2023, the Defence Ministry advised reconsidering the proposed greenfield airport due to the close proximity of Tambaram, Arakkonam and Chennai lnternational Airport, which may impose restrictions on military operations and may lead to adverse aerospace safety implications to all users.

The directions of the Defence Ministry were conveyed to the project proponent, Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO), on 21 April and to the Airports Authority of India (AAI). Subsequently, suggestions from TIDCO and the AAI were submitted to MoD for their consideration.