Rapidly growing cargo volume has prompted Cochin international airport authorities to go in for a fresh cargo complex that will be fully dedicated to imports while the existing cargo complex will be fully utilised for exports.
The new facility was being built considering the projected growth of the cargo business over the next twenty years, CIAL sources said. The new facility will be spread over 1.53 lakh square feet area and will be located slightly to the west of the present cargo complex.
Works have begun on the new cargo facility that is being built in three storeys. The complex was expected to be completed within the next eighteen months, sources added.
The present cargo complex is housed in 1.2 lakh square feet area and handles the entire volume of cargo passing through the airport. There are separate sections for dry, perishable and other items.
The airport handles about 80 to 90 tonnes of vegetables and fruits, mostly destined for the Gulf countries on a daily basis. Considering the volume of perishable items, the cargo complex has also a plant quarantine facility at the present cargo complex.
The volume of cargo moving through the Kochi airport has been increasing about 10% every year since its inception. However, two years of floods that affected the airport operations had seen cargo volume dipping a little. The volume fell about 11% last financial year. The airport logged an income of around ₹36 crore from cargo operations during the past financial year.
Around a hundred cargo companies operate at the airport. The airport handled 61,447 tonnes of cargo during the past financial year. Of this, 49,454 tonnes constituted imports while exports were 11,993 tonnes. In the domestic sector, the volume was 14,918 tonnes with 11,087 tonnes of cargo destined for Kochi.
Considering the volume of fruits and vegetables moving through the airport, there is also a dedicated line for perishable cargo at the present complex.
