Blue Dart calls for dedicated cargo space in top airports
Courier major Blue Dart Express is in talks with airport operators in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata for dedicated cargo space to be shared with its international parent company, the DHL Group.
In these major airports, the express company is looking at taking around 15,000-30,000 sq metre of space while in smaller ones like Kolkata, the space requirement would be below 5,000 sq metre.
The move will help cut down on turnaround time for loading and unloading cargo and courier in airports, Blue Dart managing director Anil Khanna told ET.
We are keen on dedicated cargo space in major airports with access to both air and city sides. The private airport operators are receptive to our needs, Mr Khanna added. While Delhi and Mumbai airports are getting upgraded and modernised, Bangalore and Hyderabad will have new greenfield airports by middle of next year.
Blue Dart already has some dedicated space in the Delhi airport but company executives said there is a need to expand this further with growing demand from the air expresss business. The turnaround time at airports is key to our business, Mr Khanna said. Most of the metro airports currently undergoing upgradation, including greenfield projects in Bangalore and Hyderabad, plan to have dedicated cargo terminal.
The courier and package distribution major has chalked out plans to invest about Rs 1,000 crore over five to eight years to expand its infrastructure and ground services.
This will be funded through our internal accruals, Mr Khanna said. Blue Dart plans to expand aircraft fleet, ramp up group handling facilities and double warehousing capacity from the current one million sq ft. Its ground express service would cover 17,500 locations around the country from around 14,600 at present over the next five years. We plan to have 20 pct market share of the ground segment by 2015, he added.
The size of organized ground handling segment is pegged at around Rs 1,200 crore, which is just about 30 pct of the total market. The remaining market is dominated by local players. Blue Dart has over 40 pct market share of the domestic air express segment.
