By IANS,
Nashik (Maharashtra): Air cargo operations supported by state-of-the-art facilities have been started from Ojhar airport, on the outskirts of this pilgrim and industrial centre in northern Maharashtra, officials said Tuesday.
The services have been started in collaboration between HALCON – a joint working group of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd and Container Corporation of India Ltd – and Clarion Solutions, part of Transworld Group, a leading shipping and logistics conglomerate.
The air cargo services are expected to be a boon for import-export activities of manufacturing companies in the entire western India, said HAL managing director P.V. Deshmukh.
“We have upgraded the existing infrastructure with an investment of Rs.70 crore to make the Ojhar airport extremely well-equipped and capable of handling AN-124, the world’s heaviest aircraft,” Deshmukh said.
The upgradation included additional parking space, enhancing the fire safety standards, medical facilities, modern radar, air traffic control, Met services and night-landing facilities, Deshmukh added.
“Combined with the modern facilities, it is strategically located, well-connected by road and rail, giving Ojhar airport an edge over Mumbai, in view of the congestion that airlines face at Mumbai airport for night parking, landing and cargo movement,” Deshmukh pointed out.
He said that besides de-congesting Mumbai airport, Ojhar airport will also boost exports-imports, as exporters of vegetables, flowers, fruits, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, engineering products and FMCGs need not go all the way to Mumbai and can now export them from Nashik.
The facility is being managed and operated by Clarion Solutions, which is assigned as a terminal operator, ground handling operator and regulated agent, said its CEO Ganesh Krishnan.
“Ojhar airport going operational for air cargo services will act as a cost effective and single window clearance facility for the importers and exporters community across various industry segments in Maharashtra,” Krishnan said.
“HALCON’s ultra-modern dry port facilities and services, coupled with HAL’s well equipped infrastrucutre is a unique combination to make Ojhar airport an air cargo hub in western India,” remarked HALCON CEO Kiran Kumar.
The air cargo complex offers warehousing, integrated packing centre for perishables, cold storage, screening, comprehensive ground handling services for airlines, CCTV surveillance, bar-coding, labelling, 100 percent power back-up, and customs with EDI linkage.
Nashik is connected by road and rail to Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa and beyond.