Mangalore: Cargo Service to begin in Mangalore Airport

Bellevision Media Network

Mangalore, 20 January 2011: If everything goes as per the plan, cargo service will start in the next 3 to 4 months in Mangalore airport which is in the excitement of 60 years celebration. Airport authority has already in the process of preparation work for this. Proposal for the cargo service in Mangalore airport has been already submitted to the customs department.

 

Once the customs department accepts the proposal then it is as good as 90 percent of the work is completed. It is expected to have the acceptance by end of this month. After the start of the new terminal at Kenjar there have been no activities in the old terminal. The airport authority has decided to use both this old terminal and the Kuduremukh helicopter hanger for the cargo services.

 

There has been huge demand for the cargo service in Mangalore since many years from the various business establishments who could freight their goods quickly in this facility. But due to technical reasons the facility was not available. After the international flights started services, the customs department did not grant permission due to shortage of space.

 

 

But now things are changed. In the old terminal about 2,000 square meter space is available. The airport authority feels that this space can be utilized for cargo services. Kenara Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) has been seriously working on this says the President of KCCI, G.G. Mohandas Prabhu. As per their study, currently about 5 to 10 tons of goods per day are expected for the cargo, which would increase to about 10 tons next year.

 

Airport authority will handle the cargo services by itself and will not be giving it for the private companies. After obtaining the permission from the customs department it will take about 2 months to complete the minimum required facilities. In the new terminal the ground handling work has been already given to the companies namely Air India Syats and Bhadra. So even if the cargo service is started their assistance can be utilized, says the Director of Airport authority M. R. Vasudev.

 

Once the cargo service is started, it will be useful to mostly the freighting of flowers, vegetables, fruits etc. It will be possible to mobilize these things in a quick time to foreign countries and they would remain fresh. With this the flowers like Jasmine and Jaji will have more market and will fetch good price also.

 

The items exported will be Jasmine flowers, fresh vegitables, sea products, fruits, electronic products, fancy fishes, garments, candle, and printed materials. The items imported will be hospital equipments, medicines, printing equipments and machineries.

- Udayavani