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Our Bureau

Bangalore, Dec. 8 A new, 11-acre Cargo Village will start functioning fromJanuary 2009 at the Bengaluru International Airport.

Built by the airport operator, Bangalore International Airport Ltd, at a cost of Rs 12 crore, the facility will house 120 freight forwarders and 80 custom house agents, a BIAL release here said.

Said to be the first of its kind in the country, the cargo village will have facilities such as banks, conference rooms, training rooms, business centre, a help desk, staff canteen, besides parking space for 80 trucks.

“This will be an advanced facility managed by the cargo associations. It will be ready for occupation from January 1, 2009,,” it said.

The cargo space has come up close to the two terminals run by the two cargo concessionaires - Menzies Aviation Bobba Pvt Ltd and Air India-SATS.

BIAL has said it hopes to make the airport the cargo hub of the South. Its CEO, Mr Albert Brunner, said, “Cargo development is a key focus of BIAL’s core business strategy. With the inauguration of the Cargo Village, we will be able to further enhance existing cargo operations for Bangalore. It will generate employment opportunities and create a better working environment for its occupants.”

Since it became operational in May 2008, BIA has handled 70,905 tonnes of cargo compared to Bangalore’s current annual requirement of 1.7 lakh tonnes. The airport operates freighters to 10 Indian and overseas destinations and has operated 740 freighter flights in the last six months. It has added two new cargo airlines - Expo Air and Jett8 Cargo.

The Cargo Village will ensure faster clearances of import and export consignments from the cargo terminals and strengthen Bangalore’s position as a trade and commercial hub. The facility was completed in 10 months. Top BIAL officials, executive office members of Air Cargo Agents Association of India and Bangalore Custom House Agents Association Ltd inaugurated the facility on Monday. Of the two operational cargo terminals, the Bobba-Menzies facility has an initial capacity to handle 1.5 lakh tonnes of cargo; AI-SATS has a two-storey warehouse with a capacity of 2 lakh tonnes.

More Stories on : Air Cargo | Karnataka

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