Singapore Airport, Air-India win B'lore deal
May 17, 2006
MAY 17: Singapore Airport Terminal
Services Ltd., the ground-handling unit of Singapore Airlines Ltd., and Air India
Ltd. won a contract to handle cargo for Bangalore International Airport Ltd. Singapore
Airport Terminal and Air-India, the nation's biggest overseas carrier, have signed
the 20-year agreement to handle freight at the new airport in Bangalore, the Singapore-
based company said in a statement filed to the island-city's stock exchange late
yesterday. Operations at the airport are expected to start in April 2008. ``This
collaboration represents a further extension of the Singapore Airport Terminal
footprint in the South Asia market and markets our first cargo handling business
in India,'' Ng Chin Hwee, Chief Executive of Singapore Airport Terminal, said
in the statement. Singapore Airport
Terminal, which faces increasing competition for ground-handling services at Changi
Airport, is expanding through overseas investments. The company and its partner
Air India will be tapping cargo volume at the Bangalore airport which is expected
to triple in the next 10 to 15 years from the current annual 120,000 tons traffic.India
has been upgrading airport facilities that have been strained by increased international
traffic and demand from new domestic carriers. Air cargo traffic in the world's
second-most populous country will grow 25 per cent a year, Civil Aviation Minister
Praful Patel said on Feb. 20. Singapore
Airport Terminal shares rose 3.6 per cent to S$2.30 in the island city. The stock
has fallen 3.4 per cent this year, compared with an 8.6 per cent climb by the
key Straits Times Index. Top |
