The proposed expansion plan of the operations of Puducherry Airport has gathered pace with the Revenue Department launching a survey of the land needed to be acquired for the construction of a new runway.A Revenue team led by Deputy Collector, North, Dayanand Tendulkar, who is also the land acquisition officer for the project, on Monday visited the Karuvadikkupam area, to assess the topography of the area.Airport Director, Airports Authority of India, Puducherry K. Rajasekhar Reddy and members of the recently constituted team for carrying out the State Social Impact Assessment (SSIA) at Karuvadikuppam Revenue Village ,were also present.The AAI would need around 402 acres to construct a new flight strip of 2, 300 metres for the operation of wide-bodied aircraft. For the construction of a new runway, 2, 300 m long and 45 m wide, the authority would require 217 acres in Tamil Nadu and 185 acres in Puducherry.“We launched the survey on Monday by visiting the place where the sewage treatment plant functions at Karuvadikuppam. The survey will be to find out the impact of land acquisition in the area, including number of houses and public utility structures needed to be relocated from the project area. A public hearing will also be conducted. We hope to complete the SSIA by two months,” a senior officer told The Hindu.The government has also requested the Villupuram administration to expedite the land acquisition process in the Tamil Nadu side. In January, the AAI had submitted a detailed Land Plan Schedule to the Tourism Department for acquiring land for the construction of the new runway. “We have been asked to speed up the land acquisition process as the government wanted to take up the airport expansion project at the earliest,” said an officer. Published - June 08, 2026 06:04 pm IST