GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo signs pact with StaTwig for vaccine shipments

GMRHyderabad Air Cargo (GHAC) on Thursday said it has signed an initial pact with Singapore-based startupStaTwigto roll out a new tech solution for tracking and monitoring vaccine shipments at the airport's cargo terminal.

The airport serves as a major pharma hub for air cargo and is one of the primary gateways for vaccine exports from India.

GHAC, a division ofGMRAir Cargo and Aerospace Engineering Limited, through this exclusive partnership will leverage the next-gen blockchain technology to deliver enhanced track-and-trace solution and real-time monitoring of vaccine shipments at the cargo terminal,the company said in a release.

The development assumes significance given Hyderabad's position as one of the biggest vaccine manufacturers globally, with the region set to produce over 3.5 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine over the next couple of years to aid the battle against the pandemic, it added.

We are glad to announce this partnership for launch of VaccineLedger, a first of its kind initiative in air cargo industry in India.This new technology product would enable us to deliver enhanced real-time visibility and status information on vaccine shipments to our customers, GMRHyderabad Air Cargo CEO Saurabh Kumar said.

The partnership brings together the domain expertise ofGMRCargo and its time-tested relationships with vaccine exporters and air cargo trade with StaTwig's proven blockchain platform to help this solution strengthen the supply chain of vaccine exports from India, said the release.

With this strategic partnership with StaTwig,GMRHyderabad Air Cargo will further consolidate its position as one of the best gateways in India for vaccine shipment handling.

"It is expanding its capabilities both in infrastructure and technology to cater to the demand in vaccine shipments and is becoming a key facilitator in the fight against COVID, GMRHyderabad International Airport Ltd CEO Pradeep Panicker said.