Indian air express and courier firm Blue Dart is looking to add new cargo facilities and expand existing ones at major domestic airports as demand soars.

The company is setting up a 1,000 square metre temporary facility at Hyderabad Airport at a cost of about INR250 million (US$6.2 million), which would be operational by end of March 2008. This would be increased to about 2,500 square metres in the coming months, according to a report in DNA Money.

Blue Dart currently has a 1,500 square metre facility at HAL Bangalore International Airport and is constructing a larger facility of 9,500 square metres at Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), which is scheduled to replace HAL.

The new facility, which would be shared by DHL would be set up at a cost of INR650 million (US$16.3 million) and will be operational by April 2008.

Blue Dart is also expecting approval for expansion of its 2,500 square metre facility at Delhi Airport.

"This is a temporary facility for one year, further we will get 11,000 sq m space at Delhi Airport, for which we have already got approvals,"according to Blue Dart managing director, Anil Khanna.

Blue Dart is also setting up 32 warehouses and transit hubs this year for a total investment of nearly INR300 million (US$7.5 million). The few locations that have been identified are Hyderabad, Nagpur, Vizag, Pondicherry and some areas in Mumbai and Delhi.

Blue Dart will also add a new Boeing 757 to its fleet by second half of 2008. The company, of which DHL Express Singapore Pvt Ltd owns an 81 per cent stake, currently operates four Boeing 737s and two Boeing 757s.