Much awaited International Air Cargo Facility will be inaugurated today at Visakhapatnam airport.

The International Air Cargo facility which is highly anticipated by the residents and commercial hubs in Visakhapatnam will be inaugurated today by none other than the Union Civil Aviation Minister P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju. This facility for air cargo was much needed while stating the the fact that Andhra Pradesh post-bifurcation has been well developed in the aviation sector. It has 3 international airports at Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Tirupathi and 3 National airports. The facility is a major boon for local traders and exporters who have been facing a lot of difficulty in exports of their goods for want of an International Air Cargo facility in Visakhapatnam.

Visakhapatnam is an emerging industrial city with presence of large public sector units such as Vizag Steel Plant, Coromandal Fertilisers, BHEL, HPCL etc. In addition to this venture in private sector such as  investments in the private sector from major industrial units such as World wide diamond, Preceux, Bradix India Pvt Ltd, Pfizer Hospira , Divis etc require the facility. The project inauguration comes as a fillip to the many budding projects in AP Special Economic Zone, Visakhapatnam Special Economic Zone etc. , EISAI, Mylan, Vasudha Pharma and many other projects in the industrial parks like , Ramky Pharma City etc.

The Airports Authority of India has granted license to APTPC or Andhra Pradesh Trade Promotion Corporation Limited to operate this terminal for a period of five years under the administrative control of Industries and Commerce Department. APTPC is actively engaged in trade facilitation in the state and has been the custodian of international cargo at Visakhapatnam since 1994.

The Facility

The new international air cargo facility inaugurated today is having total 674.64 sq.mts space including 120.06 sq.mts open space containing all essential facilities which are necessary for smooth function of goods movement. The facility has has been established with all necessary infrastructure to handle specific commodities groups such as cold room for pharmaceutical and perishable products, strong room for valuable cargo etc.Furthermore, X-ray machine , Explosive Trace Detector (ETD) , CCTV cameras , fire fighting infrastructure, as well as material handling equipment are already in place. The facility is fully compliant with Customs as well as Bureau of Civil Aviation security.

Vizag has a huge growth potential in the fields of export of pharma, textiles and garments, marine products, diamonds, engineering components, defense and electronic components, food processing etc. This additional infrastructure back up will be a big push for the commercial growth of the city.