The Hindu Business Line : `Usage of container freight stations will ease problem'

Faced with congestion at the Chennai air cargo complex, the air cargo user community has come up with a suggestion that `container freight stations' (CFS) around the city could be made use of to hold imported goods.

The poor storage facility and absence of covered warehouse space have been a bone of contention between the users and the Airports Authority of India. It takes around four days to take delivery of the cargo from the normal two days. One of the major reasons for the delay was locating cargo at the complex, industry sources said.

At a recent conference organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry, a senior Nokia official expressed his concern about the infrastructure constraints at the Chennai air cargo complex.

He said that moving imported material from the airport to Nokia's factory at Sriperumbudur normally takes about two days, but now it takes about six-seven days. He pointed out that if the State Government did not take up the matter, this situation could worsen as companiessuch as Motorola and Flextronics would soon start operations near Chennai. These multinationals work on just-in-time schedule, the sources said.

Mr Jukka Lehtela, Nokia's Director-India operations, in an e-mail response to Business Line said, "We are worried about airport infrastructure. Airport should have covered area for cargo storage during rainy season. They also need to get more cargo handling equipment and resource."

People at Customs and airport are working hard with over 100 per cent commitment to clear shipments, he said.

According to the sources, there is a CFS infrastructure that could be made use of — import cargo could be transported immediately to the facility where break bulk and delivery could take place. Cargo could be packed and readied for export at the CFS and then brought to airport for uplift. Advantages of this would be that if the cargo is moved on arrival, there are less chances of pilferage, and with covered storage there would be less damage. Moving to a CFS will also ensure that the cargo is accounted for and deliveries would become easier and faster. This would also prevent palletised cargo from being left at the parking bays, they said.

Valuable import cargosuch as cell phones, computer parts, pharmaceuticals and electronic goods have been lying on the tarmac and getting exposed to the vagaries of the weather.

With the increase in manufacturing activity and general buoyancy in the economy, there has been an increase in export and import cargo. The Chennai airport receives about 8,000 tonnes per month of import cargo and the existing facilitiesat the air cargo complex are not adequate. Also, the volume increases by nearly 30 per cent year, the sources said.

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