Federal Express Corporation (FedEx) plans to invest around $150 million (over Rs 1,400 crore) to develop an integrated air cargo hub spread across 2.3 lakh square feet at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA).The groundbreaking ceremony for the facility was held in the national capital on Tuesday in the presence of civil aviation minister K Rammohan Naidu.The hub will be set up at GMR Cargo City at the airport and is aimed at strengthening air cargo connectivity across North and East India and linking businesses with global markets, FedEx said in a release.
Cargo processing capacity to rise over eight-fold
The proposed facility is designed to significantly increase FedEx’s package processing capacity at the hub. According to the company, capacity will rise from 600 packages per hour to 5,000 packages per hour once the facility becomes operational. It can also be scaled up further, FedEx said.“The proposed facility represents a long-term investment of approximately $150 million by FedEx,” the company said in its release.GMR Cargo City will be developed in phases, with construction work expected to begin shortly.At the groundbreaking ceremony, Naidu said India should become the backbone of global air cargo movements.“I would like to congratulate FedEx and Delhi GMR Airport for entering into a partnership to create a dedicated air cargo facility at our Delhi Airport,” Naidu said.He said cargo operations had been consistently increasing and that volumes were seeing an increase of almost 40 per cent.
Centre focusing on cargo hubs and logistics network
Naidu said there was significant potential in the air cargo sector and pointed to the government’s efforts to strengthen the country’s logistics network.“Our vision is also to create cargo hubs. Which is why, recently, we introduced the transshipment policy as a proof of concept, which has given us good success. We also want to improve air freight stations across the country,” he said.Civil aviation secretary Samir Kumar Sinha said efforts were being made to remove bottlenecks affecting air cargo movements.FedEx is an express transportation company that operates a global air and ground network for shipments.