Newly-commissioned greenfield and brownfield airports in India are drawing the attention of private investors who thus far are spurning investment in cargo facilities say industry executives.
“In our country, cargo is still a neglected area even though it generates 30 per cent revenue for the airport operator. After privatisation things have improved but only in the passenger side,” said an official of a leading air-cargo company according to an Economic Times report.
In a bid to ensure that cargo facilities are developed alongside passenger facilities, the Indian government has made it mandatory for all new greenfield airports to provide separate cargo facilities – storage, ground handling and loading.
And, in a bid to bring Indian airports on par with international hubs like Dubai and Singapore in handling air cargo, the government has also decided to float a separate air cargo policy, revamp the entire electronic data interchange (EDI) system and set up an Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA).
“The documentation process for cargo at all the airports in the country is too complex and requires too much formalities. While one invoice can serve the purpose, airport authorities and other government agencies ask for 10 diff erent documents,” said Delhi Exporters Association president S P Agarwal.
According to government statistics, air cargo is expected to grow from 1,020 tonnes in 2006-2007 to 1,745 tonnes by 2011-2012. Total cargo traffic of all airports increased 21.5 per cent in 2006-07 over the previous year recording a compounded annual growth rate of 9.5 per cent for the last six years.