HAL, Concor sea and air cargo centre opens today

The centre near Nashik will provide all export facilities.

The sea and air cargo centre (SAC) of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and Container Corporation of India (Concor), coming up near Nashik, will begin operations from January 14. The centre is a 50:50 joint venture between HAL and Concor.

The centre, which is located near Janori village, about 4 km from National Highway 3, is spread over 48,500 sq m. The total project cost is around Rs 14 crore, which includes a 19,000 sq ft air cargo and a 15,000 sq ft air cargo warehouse.

"The sea and air cargo centre will make its first movement on January 14. The formal inauguration, though, would be on February 8. It would provide customs clearance and all export facilities including sea and air cargo services," Sanjeev Verma, chief executive officer (SAC project), said.

Initially, the centre will start export operations through custom-bonded trucks via Mumbai. The air cargo service will begin by April. The air cargo warehouse will be also connected to the runway, which is being expanded at Ozhar airport of HAL.

The SAC centre will have a capacity of 500 containers. Empty containers will be provided by Halcon with an average loading capacity of 28 tonne each. Concor will increase the number of containers when the need arises.

Besides, a centre for perishable commodities and a pack-house will be set up at the SAC centre. This will have a built-up area of 5,000 sq ft with 5-10 tonne storage capacity. The cold storage project is estimated to cost Rs 2.2 crore and is expected to be ready by May 2008.

The pack house will have a built-up area of 4,000 sq m and a one-time storage capacity of 40-50 tonne. It is expected to cost Rs 4.5 crore.