Continuing to enhance the airport’s infrastructure, Bengaluru International Airport inaugurated the country’s first of its kind Cargo Village. Spread over 11 acres of land area with adequate provision for future expansion, the facility, located near the cargo terminals is expected to strengthen Bangalore’s position as a trade and commercial hub while ensuring faster clearances of import and export consignments from the cargo terminals at the airport. The facility, completed over a period of 10 months, has been built with an investment of Rs. 12 crore.

From left to right: Marcel Hungerbüehler – COO, BIAL, Mr. Prabhu- President BCHAAI and Albert Brunner – CEO, BIAL, inaugurating the facility

The Cargo Village will house 120 freight forwarders and 80 custom house agents. It will be ready for occupation from 1st January 2009, post the execution of the agreements with Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) and will be managed by the cargo associations. Essential facilities at the warehouse such as banks, conference rooms, training rooms, business centre, help desk, staff canteen, truck parking, et cetra make it a truly advanced facility. It will also accommodate parking of nearly 80 trucks.

”Cargo development is a key focus of BIAL’s core business strategy. With the inauguration of the Cargo Village we will be able to further enhance existing cargo operations for Bangalore. Our airport has witnessed both a quantitative increase in terms of export facility area and qualitative improvement in terms of storage and handling capabilities to promote the outflow of goods. The facility will generate employment opportunities and create a better working environment for its occupants," said Albert Brunner, CEO, BIAL.

The Cargo Village was inaugurated by members of the executive management of BIAL and executive office members of Air Cargo Agents Association of India (ACAAI) and Bangalore Custom House Agents Association Limited (BCHAAL).

Bengaluru International Airport’s current facilities include two operational cargo terminals, built and operated by Menzies Aviation Bobba Pvt Ltd and Air India SATS Joint Venture consortium. The former has an initial capacity to handle 150,000 metric tons of cargo, while the latter has a two floor warehouse with a capacity of 200,000 metric tons. Till date, the airport has handled 70,905 tons of cargo. Together, they have the capacity to handle twice Bangalore’s current annual cargo requirement which stands at 170,000 tons. Over 740 freighter flights (international and domestic) have operated from Bengaluru International Airport since it began commercial operations on 24th May this year. Of these, two new freighters, Expo air and Jett8 Cargo, were introduced after the airport became functional. Today, the airport operates freighters to ten destinations across India and overseas.

About Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL)

BIAL is a Public Limited Company under Indian Companies Act, formed to build, own and operate Bangalore’s greenfield private sector; the Bengaluru International Airport. Private promoters hold a 74% stake in BIAL while the government holds the remaining 26%.⊕