Workshop held on air cargo development in North East

GUWAHATI: A one-day Workshop on ‘Air Cargo Development in North East- End to End Logistic value chain’ was organized by Airports Authority of India with AAI Cargo Logistics and Allied Services Company Ltd. (AAICLAS), which is a 100 per cent subsidiary of Airports Authority of India at Guwahati on Friday.

The workshop was inaugurated by Dr. Guruprasad Mohapatra, Chairman, AAI, Ravi Capoor, Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Assam, Usha Padhee, joint secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India. The occasion was graced by the presence of Chandra Mohan Patowary, Minister of Industry & Commerce, Govt. of Assam, an official release informed on Friday.

Addressing the participants, Patowary emphasised on the need for coordial connectivity with rural area, which is an important factor for cargo and goods to reach it’s logical end. He also urged stakeholders to make way for business with eastern and South East Asian countries from Assam.

Dr. Guruprasad Mohapatra said,”We are now providing cold storage facility which was missing from north east. Farmers, traders and producers can now send local products to other parts of the world. With the increasing demand, airlines are adding more and more cargo planes in their fleet.” He assured that AAI along with AAICLAS is ready to facilitate all concerned stakeholders in development of cargo in the region. He also announced reduced airport charges under Regional Connectivity scheme if proposal received from State Govt.

The widely discussed course of the workshop amongst the Stakeholders was “Infrastructure, Logistics Development & Other Opportunities” in Air cargo in North Eastern India. As the Air Cargo Industry in India continues to grow at a healthy rate of 20 per cent during the past few years, the end to end logistic value chain plays an important role in its future role. Perishable cargo is the major commodity from North Eastern Region (NER) being transported within India and the world. Assam is leading in horticulture (fruits and vegetables) and floriculture (cut flower, etc.) besides pharma commodities. The strengthening of the value chain from producers till consumers is the need of the hours to boost the air cargo in North Eastern Region.

The motive of organising the workshop is to transform this region into a vibrant hub for Domestic & International cargo. The participants at the Workshop included representatives from different Departments of Government of Assam, AAI officials from Headquarter, Airline industry with air cargo officials, stakeholders like customs, security, logistic chain, transport, Trade & commerce, pharmacy, food processing, local farmers & aggregators.