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AAI asks user to run air cargo unit

India's airports authority said on Monday it had handed over management of a perishables cargo unit at Hyderabad to a client, the first step in farming out airport operations to users and private players.

The Andhra Pradesh State Trading Corp was awarded the management, operation and maintenance of the 17-tonne cargo complex after an open bidding process earlier this month.

"We also plan to hand over perishables cargo units at New Delhi and Madras airports to private companies," said P S Nair, executive cargo director of the Airports Authority of India.

Fruits, vegetables, fish and flowers comprise India's main airfreight exports of perishables with Europe and Middle East as the chief markets.

Perishable exports have expanded rapidly and form around 14 per cent of India's total exports which, apart from perishables, are made up of textiles, garments, leather goods, valuables and IT equipment.

The country has perishables units at airports in New Delhi, Madras, Hyderabad, Trivandrum and Bangalore.

Of these, the first three are run by the airports authority.

The New Delhi airport handles 600 tonnes of perishable air cargo per month. Its perishables cargo complex can handle three times this capacity.

The Madras airport handles 240 tonnes of perishables per month.

The airports authority has started work on building a perishables cargo facility at Bombay airport, the country's biggest export centre for perishables.

Roughly 40 per cent of Bombay's air cargo exports of over 4,400 tonnes per month are made up of perishables.

The Bombay facility will be set up with financial assistance from the Agricultural and Processed Foods Products Export Development Authority. APEDA had also helped set up the perishables unit at Hyderabad.

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