Bengaluru 2nd International Airport: Govt May Merge Both Kanakapura Sites

Bengaluru’s second international airport may come up on a merged land parcel in the Kanakapura area with the Karnataka government reportedly mulling combining the two shortlisted locations – Chudahalli and Somanahalli – instead of picking one for the much-awaited project.

News18 had earlier reported on Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar confirming that the second Bengaluru airport location had been narrowed down to the two sites in Kanakapura. According to a report in Deccan Herald, the government is considering plans to merge the locations into “one perfect land parcel”, including the villages between Kunigal and Nelamangala near Tumakuru Road.

The report attributed the information to senior officials from the Infrastructure Development Department

(IDD), the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB).

The two shortlisted airport sites along Kanakapura Road reportedly span 4,800 acres and 5,000 acres each. “If the government chooses to look at it cumulatively, it allows for more leeway to perfectly carve out the 4,500-5,000 odd acres to build the proposed airport,” Deccan Herald quoted a KIADB official as saying.

Apart from Kanakapura, a third site in Nelamangala in North Bengaluru was previously in the running as the location for the second Bengaluru international airport. But chances of the new Bengaluru airport coming up there have significantly slimmed over the past few weeks, with DK Shivakuamr himself confirming that the second airport is most likely to come up in South Bengaluru.

Where the second Bengaluru airport comes up carries significant weight, as the tech capital’s aviation demand continues to surge, putting pressure on existing infrastructure led by Kempegowda International Airport, the city’s primary aviation hub.

To ensure the right site is chosen, the Karnataka government has appointed a Meinhardt-KPMG consortium to conduct a detailed feasibility study across all three shortlisted locations. The study, awarded at a cost of Rs 4.96 crore, will take around five months to complete.

Why Bengaluru Needs a Second Internatonal Airport

Bengaluru’s growth as India’s IT capital has far outpaced its infrastructure. While Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru has expanded capacity in phases, rising passenger traffic and cargo demand are expected to push it to its limits in the coming years.

The city’s older aviation facility, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Airport, now handles limited operations and cannot support commercial-scale expansion.

This makes the Bengaluru International Airport ecosystem heavily dependent on a single major airport, an unsustainable model for a city of Bengaluru’s scale and economic importance.

Land and Connectivity: Key Deciding Factors

Each shortlisted location has around 4,500 acres identified for development, ensuring adequate space for a greenfield airport. However, connectivity remains a crucial differentiator.

The Kanakapura Road sites benefit from proximity to the city’s southern growth corridor, including emerging residential and industrial clusters. Meanwhile, the Nelamangala site offers access to Tumakuru Road and industrial belts but faces competition from southern sites in terms of urban expansion alignment.

The government is also factoring in how the new airport integrates with Bengaluru’s broader mobility network, including highways and potential rail links.