The Airports Authority of India has acquired 19.06 acres behind Meenambakkam metro station for ₹278 crore to expand parking for goods carriers serving Chennai airport’s cargo terminal, a move aimed at reducing truck-related congestion on GST Road.
AI Assets Holding Ltd officially transferred the land parcel to AAI on Monday. The site was previously occupied by a residential colony for erstwhile Indian Airlines employees and includes a stadium that is expected to be converted immediately into a parking area for vehicles delivering and collecting cargo.
An AAI official said some demolition work would be required to create additional parking capacity. Three proposals are currently under review for developing the full 19.06-acre parcel, with the airport’s long-term requirements being considered, the official said.
The land purchase comes as the cargo terminal handles a sharp increase in freight movement. Chennai airport processes about 400 tonnes of export cargo and 800 tonnes of import cargo every day, according to the report. These volumes are nearly 30% higher than they were last year.
Goods carriers typically arrive in large numbers between 3pm and 8pm on at least four days a week. With insufficient parking around the cargo terminal, hundreds of trucks are parked along the roadside each day. Private buses also stop on both sides of GST Road near the airport, adding to evening traffic disruption.
The congestion is concentrated around the airport’s cargo access area, where freight vehicles must wait before loading or unloading. Roadside parking narrows the available carriageway and creates conflict between heavy vehicles, airport traffic, buses and other road users. The immediate parking intervention is therefore intended to move waiting trucks off the main road rather than change the volume of cargo moving through the terminal.
The Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority has previously urged AAI to shift the cargo terminal to the rear side of the airport as a longer-term measure to reduce congestion. The proposal to relocate the terminal has not been replaced by the land acquisition; the newly acquired parcel is being considered for parking and related operational needs.
AAI’s next step is to evaluate the three development proposals and undertake the demolition and conversion work required to make the initial parking space operational. The final use of the full land parcel will depend on the plan selected for the airport’s long-term cargo requirements.
