Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) is positioning the Kempegowda International Airport to be the ‘Gateway to South India’ from passenger and cargo point of view. In an email interview, GV Sanjay Reddy, Managing Director, BIAL spoke to BusinessLine about the recent developments at BIAL as it remains on course for expansion, in line with the burgeoning travel needs of the business executives and holiday makers.
What has been the trend in domestic air cargo movement from south India and the sectors contributing to it?
Bangalore is one of the fastest growing cities in the country. It attracts huge amounts of investment in the fields of information technology (IT), machinery, BPO, biotech, medical tourism and educational institutions. The growth of the IT sector has been the major influencing factor in increasing international traffic from the city. Parallel to this are the airport’s robust plans and strategic intent to grow its cargo business. Bangalore International Airport Limited’s vision is to be the ‘Gateway to South India’ from passenger and cargo point of view. The airport aims to be the single gateway in South India for cargo traffic and shippers aspiring to reach this fast-growing region. Bangalore’s domestic cargo has earmarked a 11-per cent increase in FY 2013-14 compared to last financial year. The major destinations from Bangalore are Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad.
The cargo volumes handled at the Kempegowda International Airport between January 2014 and May 2014 is 1.03 lakh tonnes and has seen a growth of 7.8 per cent compared with the same period last year.
The movement of international cargo from the airport has grown around 5 per cent in FY 2013-14 vis-à-vis last financial year. With growing e-commerce business and changing buying patterns in India, domestic cargo is seeing a phenomenal growth. Other commodities for domestic cargo are auto parts, flowers, engineering and courier loads. The Bengaluru airport caters to the growing trade of pharmaceuticals to North America and Africa, perishables (fruits & vegetables) to the West Asia and Asia. This apart, the dominant mix of goods remain electronics and engineering, machineries, automobile, textiles and ready-made garments from southern India to SAARC, Asia, Europe, North America and West Asia.
What has been the development on BIAL’s plan to set up a ‘Cargo Village’?
The master plan of the airport has incorporated additional space for the development and building of an integrated air cargo and logistics hub in future. In addition to the cargo terminals and in-house facility of offices and operation warehouses to our cargo partners, the Cargo Village would also consist of free trade zone subject to government approvals and trade demand. The present cargo facility at the Kempegowda International Airport consists of two cargo terminal operators, an express cargo facility and a dedicated space (‘Cargo Village’) for our cargo partners, providing space to 200 logistics service providers, airlines and customs brokers.
What are the future plans to boost cargo growth from the airport?
Kempegowda International Airport has positioned itself to be the ‘South Indian Cargo Gateway to Global Economies’. To make it happen, BIAL has invested substantially to develop a world-class cargo infrastructure with state-of-the-art Cargo terminals for faster turnaround. Last year, the airside Air Cargo capacity was enhanced with the opening of seven wide-body dedicated freighter aircraft bays with seamless access to the cargo terminal. The airside capacity development has led to the reduction in dwell time between warehouse and the ramp leading to high operational efficiencies. The airport is evaluating a dedicated perishable cargo facility to handle temperature sensitive cargo at airport. This is to facilitate and boost the pharmaceutical and other perishable trade. With the airport’s focus on hub development, and connectivity to and from Bangalore in South India forms a vital link of value chain.