Hyderabad airport to double cargo handling capacity.

GMR Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) at Hyderabad is planning to double its cargo handling capacity especially in the bulk drugs category in the next three years.

The airport is currently handling 1.50 lakh tonnes of cargo 60 per cent of which is related to pharma sector. Plans were finalised to take this up to to three lakh tonnes in the next three years, SGK Kishore, Chief Executive officer, RGIA, said recently.

He was speaking to newspersons after the inaugural session of the two-day Pharmerging Expo, organised by GMR Hyderabad International Airport and Agility, integrated logistics solutions provider.

RGIA’s aim is to provide an eco-system for increasing the pharma cargo exports through temperature controlled processes in association with related regulatory authorities including the customs department.

“The effort is also to improve the ease of doing business and ensure gaps in storage and handling of cold chain supply is bridged with real time information with help of ‘vaccutech’, Kishore said. A master plan to expand the cargo capacity for perishables such as fruits and vegetables with ‘Express Cargo’ was also finalised.

An 100 acre cargo logistics park is being readied inside the Shamshabad airport providing state-of-the-art facilities and single stop clearances in all aspects

“The cargo handling at the RGIA growing at 8 per cent per annum while the passenger segment growth is at about 20 per cent,” he said.

Talks were on with ‘Express Cargo’ and handlers from Etihad, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia to operate from here with Blue Dart, FedEx and others.

HBL