Northeast's second largest air cargo terminal opened in Tripura's Agartala

Northeast India's second largest air cargo terminal was inaugurated at the Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport in Agartala by Tripura Transport Minister Sushanta Chowdhury on Friday.

The largest such facility in the region exists at Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati.

The new building was constructed at a cost of Rs 17 crore and cargo handling facility at the airport was restored after being shut since December 4 last year due to the absence of security vetting by regulatory body, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS).

The suspension of services had caused inconvenience to traders as well as postal service.

"Today I inaugurated the domestic air cargo terminal, which will play a pivotal role in flourishing the state's economy. Tripura has witnessed massive growth in connectivity over the last few years. The airport has been upgraded keeping in view future needs," the minister said during the inauguration programme.

Chief Minister Manik Saha, during his recent visit to New Delhi, had called on Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and urged him to facilitated the opening of the terminal. A team of BCAS officials visited the state on April 10 and 11 and cleared security vetting at the terminal.

The building has a capacity to handle 40,150 MT of annual cargo annually, which is 10 times the present demand.

Provisions are available for storing both perishable and non-perishable goods. The entire premises is under CCTV surveillance and has fire fighting equipment, an AAI official said.