Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) has opened the country’s first on-airport public bonded warehouse.
To be operated by Cargo Service Center (CSC), the 10,000 sq ft warehouse facility will be under the jurisdiction of the city commissionerate, Bengaluru customs. It will facilitate re-export of goods and long-term storage of bonded cargo, assist in partial clearances and allow value-added services such as labelling, packing, and repacking services.
“In order to simplify processes and meet customer demands with the help of key stakeholders, including Bengaluru customs, BIAL has taken this step to set up India’s first on-campus public bonded warehouse. This demonstrates BIAL’s commitment to support the airport cargo community, as well as bolster the growth of BLR Airport as a cargo hub,” said Satyaki Raghunath, Chief Strategy & Development Officer, BIAL.
“BIAL has tremendous potential to become the cargo hub for South India, and at CSC, we are excited to be part of this transformation. We are thrilled to partner with BIAL as an operator of the new public bonded warehouse. CSC is the largest cargo service provider in India, with presence in Mumbai, Delhi and Ahmedabad. We already have a footprint at BIAL as an operator of the cargo village at the airport,” said Tushar Jani, group chairman, CSC.
To bring further efficiencies into cargo operations, BIAL recently announced the implementation of the Air Cargo Community System (ACS) to streamline the air logistics supply chain. This digital platform will enable seamless collaboration between all stakeholders in the supply chain to deliver superior and efficient cargo operations.
BLR Airport is emerging as the preferred cargo gateway for industries from the region, making it the third busiest cargo airport in the country and the busiest in South India. It offers the largest air cargo terminal, with a handling capacity of 570,000 MT and an average travel time of nine hours from major manufacturing clusters across the region.
The airport processed 99,154 MT of cargo in the first five months between April and August 2020, recording a 92% growth in cargo air traffic movements.
