BIAL launches free trade SEZ for cargo services

The Bengaluru International Airport (BIAL) is currently creating a free trade area (FTA) or a special economic zone (SEZ) on its campus to offer its cargo services to the whole of south India. With its expansion plans, it intends to widen the airport internal road into a five-lane, two of which will be reserved for passengers and three others for trucks carrying cargo, said an official spokesperson, claiming that its intention is to support more cargo business and make the airport a cargo hub for south India with spacious parking lot over two acres for over 250 trucks at a time. He claimed that the company had grown to become the largest and only airport to provide comprehensive ground and cargo handling services in the south and has recorded a 117% growth in its cargo business compared with the same period last year. Pharma exports from BIAL, which have been growing at a steady 15% CAGR, account for over 7 percent of the total exports from Bengaluru. Over 70% of pharma exports from the city are to the USA, UK, Australia, Canada, France, Vietnam, Philippines, Germany, Nigeria, Algeria, Uganda, and Russia. The newly planned five-lane road is not only meant to cater to the increase in its cargo handling services, but also the anticipated rise in its cargo traffic.