Mangaluru: The inauguration of the Commissioning of the common user Domestic Cargo Terminal was held at the International airport premises here on June 25.
Gurmeet Kalra, General Manager of CSC, welcomed the gathering. The airport director J T Radhakrishna inaugurated the Cargo terminal by cutting the ribbon.
Addressing the gathering, Tushar Jani, Chairman of CSC, said, “This is my second visit to this city. I came in 1984 when I started Blue Dart and the city has gone through a lot of change in these 30 years. It is a fortunate thing for all of us that the Airports Authority has decided to use 24 airports for domestic cargo expansion. Due to the efforts of Radhakrishna (Director of MIA), the airport from 5th position has come up to 2nd position. This will put Mangaluru into a different position. India is going through a different design as far as economy is concerned. Major developments are going to come from II Tier and III Tier cities. The disposable income will be more with these tier cities, Mangaluru falling under a Tier II city. In 10 years, you will not be able to tell that Mangaluru was like this; I am very confident about this. I am also confident because according to our research, the cargo load will go 100% up within a years time. With this facility, there will be reduction in transit time, transit points for cargo.”
Explaining the complexity, he said, “Transportation of cargo is more challenging than passenger since we cannot always know what is inside. That is the biggest challenge for us. But the Bureau of Aviation has worked out a detailed procedure to know the contents, and that is why we use the x-ray machines. Many airlines were not ready to take cargo from locations because of the security and safety angle, but that is being addressed.”
President of Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Mangaluru), Nigam Vasani congratulated Radhakrishna for finishing the new terminal in record time. “With the addition of this terminal and the expertise of CSC, I am sure this cargo terminal will see unimaginable business. KCCI has been at the forefront in stimulating economic growth and entrepreneurship by attracting new businesses in Dakshina Kannada and coastal Karnataka. Air cargo handling will contribute to the economic growth of our area. We would like to see a much bigger role of Mangalore Airport in attracting new businesses to fuel the economy of our district.” He also suggested and made a proposal, on behalf of the KCCI, for the addition of an aircraft MRO facility and an airport SEZ, which would contribute greatly to the economy of the region.
Radhakrishna said that metro airports have been connected with domestic cargo terminals and cargo has been a big business. New tier-2 Airports (nearly 22 airports) have been picked to establish the domestic cargo terminals through licensees – 3rd party so that the untapped domestic cargo can be transported from one city to another city. “This will provide immense benefits to Trade & Industry of DK & Udupi districts and adjacent areas in transporting cargo within the country. With 30 domestic flight operations (15 arrivals + 15 departures), this can handle at maximum capacity of 70-80MT/per day if the airlines and trade industry go with full loads. This will increase the revenues to airlines, airports, industry and trade in and around the Mangaluru city. Even though this is a facility but it is a great milestone in the history of MIA as it is the first airport to get clearance for this service among the 22 airports and the benefits of this new service will be seen in coming days and will fetch remarkable results. AAI is requesting all industry, trade bodies to utilize this facility for transport of goods.”
President of KCCI (Udupi) Srikrishnarao Kodancha also spoke on the occasion. Prabhakaran delivered the vote of thanks.
Recently awarded the contract to Operate and Manage the Common User Domestic Cargo Terminal at Mangaluru, International Airport, CSC India is a premier air cargo handling company with offices across Mumbai, Delhi, and Chennai airports. The company is renowned for offering world-class air cargo handling services to globally reputed International as well Domestic Airlines at its locations across India. Founded in India in 1995, the Cargo Service Center Group of Companies (CSC Group) is widely regarded as a pioneering air cargo handler in India by the trade and industry. The CSC Group has been handling and supervising nearly 500,000 metric tonnes of air cargo annually and has a market share of approximately 18% in air cargo handling.
Together with providing a range of air cargo handling and supervisory services to airlines, the CSC Group has designed and operates two state-of-the-art air cargo terminals located at Mumbai and Delhi International Airports. Its cargo terminal at Mumbai International Airport – the ‘Perishable Cargo Terminal’ offers a temperature controlled environment for the handling of perishable and temperature sensitive air cargo; and its terminal at Delhi International Airport – ‘Cargo Terminal 2’ offers air cargo handling for various kinds of air cargo including General Cargo, Perishable Cargo, Odd-size Cargo, Live Animals, Dangerous Goods and more.
