By IANS
Bangalore : With less than two months to go for the new Bangalore International Airport to begin flight operations, air cargo operators in the IT hub say they are worried about the lack of cargo handling facilities there.
The present Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) airport in the city will be shut from March 30 for civilian and cargo flights as the new airport at Devanahalli, about 35 km from the central business district, begins operations.
The HAL airport handles about 160,000 tonnes of cargo annually, which is growing at over 20 percent a year.
“We are totally in the dark about the facilities for cargo handling at the new airport,” was the common refrain of over 70 cargo operators in Bangalore when they met officials of the Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) here Monday.
“There is no warehouse facility, no decision on handling charges and no information on whether customs office will be ready to function from the new airport from March 30,” Tony Udagedara, vice-president of the Bangalore Air Cargo Club who attended the meeting, told IANS Tuesday.
Customs officials and one of the BIAL appointed cargo handlers, Bobba Group-Menzies Aviation, did not turn up for the meeting though they had been invited, he said. However, representatives of SATS-Air India, one of the two cargo handlers, attended the meeting.
“We have suggested that till all the facilities are ready at the new airport, customs clearance be done at the HAL airport,” Udagedara said.
BIAL representatives at the meeting were non-committal on this suggestion as the agreement with the Karnataka and central governments on the new airport states that all civilian, cargo and related operations at the HAL airport will cease from the day the new airport starts functioning.
A consortium of Siemens Projects Ventures, Larsen & Toubro and Unique Zurich Airport, together holding 74 percent stake, is building the new airport. The Karnataka State Investment and Industrial Development Corporation and the Airports Authority of India hold the remaining equity.
On reports that Bangalore air cargo operators were thinking of shifting operations to Chennai, Hyderabad or Kochi airports, Udagedara said: “It is only an option.”
BIAL representatives have assured that all cargo handling facilities, though temporary, will be ready at the new airport by March 20 from when the operators can start relocating.
“But it is still not clear whether customs will be ready as our information is they need at least three months to set up their office,” Udagedera said.
The cargo handling charges at the airport may come to around Rs.6 a kg as against Rs.2 at the HAL airport. “But no decision has been taken on this by the agencies appointed by BIAL,” he said. A Karnataka government undertaking, Mysore Sales International Ltd (MSIL), was handling the cargo at the HAL airport.
A BIAL official said Tuesday that all these issues will be discussed at a meeting with cargo handlers it has appointed on Feb 14. “We expect to finalise the handling charges at this meeting and also know where the customs department stands in setting up office at the new airport,” the official said.
The BIAL has promised a cargo village with all facilities at Devanahalli in two years from now.
Udagedara said each cargo operator would require between 2,000 and 3,000 sq feet for a warehouse. For a temporary office, around 300 sq ft would do but electricity, telephone, Internet and other connectivity should be assured, he said.