Comments
A rapid recovery from recession resulted in a 27 per cent spurt in cargo volumes at the Bengaluru International Airport. The airport handled 222,778 tonnes of cargo last fiscal, dominated by engineering goods, electrical and electronic goods, and garments.
“The 27 per cent growth in 2010-11 was due to the rapid recovery from recession in the previous financial year. Bengaluru International Airport's recovery from recession was the fastest due to the market profile,” Mr Hari Marar, President – Airport Operations, Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), told Business Line . In 2011-12, he expected cargo volumes to grow at about 9 per cent, “which will be an organic growth”.
According to him, cargo has grown at 40 per cent since the airport's opening in May 2008. While the total cargo tonnage handled in 2008-09 was 132,398 tonnes, it was 174,642 tonnes in 2009-10. There is also a considerable demand from the pharmaceutical sector and for perishables, he said. The total cargo handling capacity at the airport is about 350,000 tonnes.
“Bangalore has witnessed huge investments across various industrial sectors which complement the cargo growth from the city,” added Mr Marar.
Cargo village
Besides, the airport's cargo village, which acts as a warehouse to global freight forwarders, is also fully functional now.
In order to boost cargo growth in the region, BIAL also offers cold storage facilities, trans-shipment facilities, plant and animal quarantine office, textile committee office and an additional drug controller for exports of pharmaceuticals.
“In the near future, an import additional drug controller is expected which would facilitate an increase in pharmaceutical goods,” said Mr Marar. The State Government's proposed aerospace special economic zone near the airport would also facilitate the cargo growth of the region, he added.
Seven freighters operate from the airport currently — Lufthansa, Etihad Cargo Airlines, Qatar Airlines Cargo, Singapore Airlines Cargo and Cathy Pacific Cargo. Besides, FedEx connects Bangalore to Dubai and Paris, and AeroLanka (a non-scheduled carrier) connects to Colombo thrice weekly on an average.
Mr Marar added that BIAL was in talks with many international freighters, and expected some more to begin operations in the near future, however declining to provide further details.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.