Mangalore: Ajit Singh inaugurates cargo complex at Airport
Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (DV)
Mangalore, Mar 18: Union minister for civil aviation Ajit Singh on Monday March 18 inaugurated the long-awaited air cargo complex at Mangalore International Airport, Bajpe, and also formally marked the opening of the airport as an international one.
Addressing the gathering, he said that Airports Authority of India had modified the old passenger terminal building into an air cargo complex. "The new international airport consists an area of 1,400 sq meters for international cargo and about 1,100 sq meters for domestic cargo. The facility has annual holding capacity of 5000 metric tons for international import cargo, 13,000 metric tons for export cargo, 18,000 metric tons for domestic in-bound cargo, and 21,000 metric tons for domestic out-bound cargo."
"The Air Cargo Complex facility is electronically linked with centralized cargo server at Kolkata, thereby further enhancing the utilization and effectiveness of available infrastructure. As many as 200 flights are operating every week. The Air Cargo has standard storage facilities for valuable and sensitive cargo. Over a period of time business will evolve and exclusive cargo flights will operate to and from Mangalore. The Common Users Terminal Equipment (CUTE) system has also been inaugurated today, this facility will enhance operational efficiency, reduce turnaround time of craft and will replace the traditional processing of passenger baggage.
He said that other plans for the airport include extension of runway to provide a total length up to 3,400 meter suitable for operation of B747-400/B-777-200 aircraft. "For this, an additional land of 285 acres is required, which I request the state government to provide. Over a period of time, AAI has invested over Rs 250 crore for the development of Mangalore Airport and works worth Rs 100 crore are in progress," he said.
"There is potential for further enhancement of traffic from Mangalore particularly to Gulf countries. The statistics indicate a growth of rate of 6.45 percent for domestic passenger traffic, and 3.9 percent for international passenger traffic. Traffic forecast indicate that after a period of five years passenger growth will be 10.5 percent and cargo growth rate 12.15 percent. The Mangalore Airport where this facility has been inaugurated is ranked 8th in domestic handling in the southern region.
"Air India has planned to launch direct flight to Damman twice a week with effect from March 31. Cargo terminals have been established to provide connectivity with Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi and Mumbai," he added.
Referring to the ghastly air crash in 2010 at Mangalore Airport, he said the government will do all it can to make it as safe as any other airport in the country. Regarding the issue of compensation to kin of victims, he said the matter is likely to come up in Supreme Court and the government will honour whatever decision it takes.
Former Airport director M R Vasudeva was felicitated on the occasion.
Veerappa Moily, union minister of petroleum and natural gas, K S Venu Gopal, minister of state for civil aviation, MPs Oscar Fernandes, Jayaprakash Hegde, MLAs Abhayachandra Jain, U T Khader were present.
Manohar Prasad compered while Agarwal welcomed the gathering.