Stakeholders bat for better air cargo facilities from Vizag
The International Airport lacks facilities to suit refrigeration requirement for specific products like pharmaceuticals
Visakhapatnam: Inbound air cargo was restored to Visakhapatnam on Wednesday after an SOS sent by certain stakeholders to allow supply of certain lifesaving injections and medicines.
There has been a demand for long time to augment air cargo handling facilities from Visakhapatnam International Airport to enhance volumes as the city is emerging as a strategic industrial hub over the past several years. The airport also lacks facilities to suit the refrigeration requirement for specific products like pharmaceutical products, seafood and other items.
Inbound and outbound cargo movement was stopped as per the instructions of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) from January 1 from Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Rajamahendravaram and few other airports in the country.
Visakhapatnam Airport Director K Srinivasa Rao told Bizz Buzz that on receiving representation, they had restored inbound cargo movement and they are holding talks to secure clearance to revive outbound cargo movement.
Visakhapatnam Airport handled 4,314 tonnes of domestic air cargo during 2021-22. The international cargo volume was just 20 tonnes during the year. Upto October, during the current year, the airport could handle a domestic throughput of 2,869 tonnes.
Dr Voonna Murali Krishna, Managing Director and chief surgical oncologist, Mahatma Gandhi Cancer Hospital and Research Institute, said they are supposed to give Radionuclide therapy to people immediately after diagnosis. The product has to be brought from Hyderabad or Bangalore and on an average 50 patients need it on a daily basis. On being brought to the notice of the airport authorities on the urgency of obtaining it by air, the inbound traffic was immediately restored, he pointed out.
Visakhapatnam, being home for several industrial and pharmaceutical establishments and the main export centre for frozen shrimps, needs dedicated air cargo and augmentation of equipment and refrigeration facilities immediately. "We need expertise of vendors like Menzies, who handle air cargo at Shamshabad International Airport keeping in view the long term requirements of Visakhapatnam," Sravan Shipping Services Director H Sravan Kumar said.
Vizag Development Forum vice-president and CEO of Symbiosys Technologies O Naresh Kumar said keeping in view the need to boost exim cargo, the airport authorities should slowly introduce dedicated air cargo after improving handling and storage equipment and storage facilities.
