The largest and busiest airport in the state of Andhra Pradesh, Vizag has extended a second round of bids this year but still only one company has submitted a technical bid to take up the contract. Even a reduction in the license fee, from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 3.5 lakh a year, was not enough to spark greater interest.
Should Vizag airport officials obtain clearance for the current bid from the Airports Authority of India, international air cargo operations at the airport should be up and running by December this year.
The excessive delay in the initiation of international air cargo operations at Vizag has incited some criticism, however. At the beginning of the year, another company had already secured the tender for this contract, but failed to start operations and later withdrew on the grounds that international cargo operations were not feasible at Vizag airport.
Some operators have reportedly been discouraging the developers from handling these operations at the airport, stating that they are not profitable and that the AAI needs to improve infrastructure for international cargo.
Regarding the current handling offer, Vizag airport Director V K Sharma has confirmed that one company has submitted the technical bid and the financial bid will be opened and reviewed by the airport shortly. Following this, approvals will be sought from AAI to go ahead with the operations, and cargo can then begin flying out to major destinations like Singapore, Kualalumpur and Dubai from the terminal.
