Business Line : Traffic volumes dip at new airport, says AP Minister

The Andhra Pradesh Government has said that the traffic at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad dipped when compared to the volumes at the Begumpet airport that was shut down in March 2008 to make way for the new airport.
Replying to a question by Mr Pratap Reddy (Congress) in the Assembly, the Minister for Ports and Airports, Mr M. Venkataramana Rao, said that the passenger traffic dipped to 16,400 a day at the new airport from 17,400 a day at Begumpet airport.
He cited the sharp increase in ATF (Aviation Turbine Fuel) prices and poor road connectivity to the airport as the reasons for the dip in traffic volumes.
The number of aircraft traffic movements too saw a decrease at 208 a day at the new airport from 239 at the old airport that was closed for commercial aviation operations.
He, however, said that there was an increase in the number of international passengers, whose number had gone up to 4,000 a day from 3,400. The domestic passenger volume had come down by 1,600 (a day) from 14,000 to 12,400.Members from the Congress and some Opposition parties had called for the setting up of a House Committee to look into the collection of high-user development fee (UDF) by the GMR Hyderabad International Airport and other issues related to the new airport. The Airport Minister turned down the plea.
Responding to a plea on passing a resolution calling for waiver of UDF for Haj pilgrims, the Speaker, Mr K.R. Suresh Reddy, said the House could not allow resolutions against private parties.

Business Line : Deccan Express to raise funds worth $200 m

Deccan Express Logistics, an air and ground distribution network company formed by Capt. G.R. Gopinath, plans to raise $200 million to fund the project, which is expected to become operational by the first quarter of the next financial year.
The company has appointed Edelweiss, an investment banking and financial services company, to arrange for funding from private equity and help it with a business model to run its fully integrated logistics service.
Capt Gopinath told Business Line that he hopes to raise $70 million in the next four months, while the remaining funds were expected to be arranged within three years with the help of Edelweiss.

Tie-ups
Deccan Express signed a memorandum of understanding with GMR Group on August 13 for setting up express cargo operating facilities at Delhi and Hyderabad International Airports. The GMR Group has invested in the two airports with the licence to operate them.
Last month, Deccan Express had also signed an MoU for establishing a cargo hub at Nagpur Airport. With the three airport hubs and the road and rail linkage, the company would strengthen its distribution network for efficient logistics support.
The company will be taking delivery of two cargo aircraft from Airbus soon, while it plans to acquire eight more carriers to strengthen its fleet, said Capt. Gopinath.
He said with a large number of special economic zones expected to take off in the next two years, the company was looking to provide connectivity for the cargo from the SEZ through its multimodal express distribution network. The company was working out a franchise model for the road network.

Business Line : Perishable cargo centre in Hyderabad

Sensing huge potential for movement of perishable cargo such as horticulture, poultry and pharmaceutical products, the GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd will set up a 13,000-tonne cargo facility for perishable commodities at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) at Shamshabad. "The Rs 40-crore facility will help both exporters and importers of these commodities," Mr A Vishwanath, Chief Commercial Officer (CMO), said in a press release.
The APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority) would give a subsidy of Rs 20 crore. The CPC (Centre for Perishable Cargo) would give a boost to horticultural activity in Andhra Pradesh. The centre would have an initial capacity of 13,000 tonnes a year. This would go up to 25,000 tonnes a year in the second phase (2013-2014). "We have estimated that there is a potential of 5,000 tonnes in the short term. We also expect huge demand from the retail and pharma industries. The potential in the latter segment is put at 3,000 tonnes," he said. - Our Bureau

Business Line : Express cargo hubs at Delhi, Hyderabad airports

GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL) and Delhi International Airport Pvt Ltd (DIAL) have signed memoranda of understanding with Deccan Cargo & Express Logistics Pvt Ltd (Deccan Express) for developing express cargo hubs in Hyderabad and Delhi.
A release from GHIAL said that Deccan Express will initially utilise the cargo terminal operated by Hyderabad Menzies Air Cargo Pvt Ltd (HMACPL).
“HMACPL will offer over 300 sq. m within the domestic wing of the cargo terminal for the exclusive use of Deccan Express, which will develop the express cargo facility at the airport as a hub for its business in the central and southern regions of India,” the release added.
DIAL will also offer over 2,000 sq. m to Deccan Express at the Delhi Airport for setting up of the facility and the latter will develop the express cargo facility at the Delhi Airport as a hub for its business in North India.
The operations of Deccan Express are expected to commence from January 1, 2009, and shift to the proposed Integrated Express Terminal at both the airports when ready.
“The MoU with the GMR Group will enable us to establish modern express cargo hubs in Hyderabad and Delhi which together with our central hub at Nagpur will function as a distribution model facilitating effective consolidation and dispatch to destination in the metros and the interiors,” the release quoted Capt G.R. Gopinath, Founder and Chairman, Deccan Express Logistics.
He added that the setting up of infrastructure at these strategic locations will enable Deccan Express Logistics to establish an extensive multi-modal (surface and air) storage, transportation and delivery network.

Expressindia.com: 'Logistics has huge job opportunities'

Ashok Kumar Posted online: Saturday , August 09, 2008 at 17:36 hrs

All India Management Association (AIMA), in association with JK Business School organised a global summit on Supply Chain & Logistics Management in New Delhi. Ashok Kumar of Expressindia.com speaks to prominent speakers at the event.
Dr. Nallan C Suresh, professor & chairman (Dept. of Operations Management and Strategy) from the School of Management, State University of New York, Buffalo called logistics as the most important segment of the Industry.
Terming logistics as ‘underrated’ in India, Dr Suresh said in western countries this trade enjoys the industry status.
Emphasising on the potential of the more than one billion strong population of India he said, “If we remove all kinds of hurdles that comes across logistics, we can drive costs down to our advantage.”
“If the logistics prices come down we can minimise the exploitation of both the producers as well as the consumers to a great extent as it will reduce the margins of the middlemen”, Dr. Suresh added.
Dr Reena Ramachandran Director General of JK Business School said, earlier, logistics management was just a support function. Most of the innovations happened in the past in this field were at the level of a company.
Since education and the industry are linked with each other it is prudent to teach strategic solutions to the students and give them hands on experience of the challenges that lie ahead, Ramchandran elaborated.
Outlining the importance of teaching logistics as a discipline Dr. Reena said, “Being a part of the system, we cannot escape reality. We need to work the logistics to manage the industry effectively.”
Another prominent speaker, SL Ganapathi, CEO, Logistics Plus India Ltd, said Logistics was always in the industry and was commonly known as the transport department. Now it has an integrated look. Calling it the backbone of supply Ganapathi said, “No industry could afford to run without efficient management of logistics.”
Explaining about the high costs of logistics in developing countries he said it is around 13% of the cost of the product paid by the consumers, which is significantly higher compared to the logistic expenditure of around 8% in the western economies.
Talking about the prospects of logistics management as a discipline Ganpathi maintained that Logistics has a huge potential for job opportunities. Not only that, “With better transport and infrastructure we can bring down the cost of logistics,” he added.
Colonel Faiz-ur-Rahman, chairman of the Sri Lanka based DHL Global Forwarding, commenting on the historic value of logistics said, “Genesis of Logistics could be found in the Bible also. It’s a synergy of various functions like packaging, transport etc. It’s a challenge for the modern industry to cut down the logistics’ expenditure and if we are able to do that, it will be a win-win situation for both the producers and the consumers.” Rahman stressed

Business Line : Andhra Pradesh drive to boost sea-borne trade

by K.V. Kurmanath

Andhra Pradesh is set to emerge as a major hub for sea-borne trade, within the next four-five years, thanks to the initiative of the State Government to develop facilities along the State’s 978-km long coast line.
The initiatives, as Mr K.V. Brahmananda Reddy, Special Secretary, Infrastructure & Investments (Ports), Government of Andhra Pradesh, explained to Business Line, would include development of non-major ports on public-private partnership (PPP) model and modernisation and upgradation of existing facilities.
A beginning had already been made with the first phase commissioning of four berths of the Rs 1,200-crore Krishnapatnam Port in July and the launching of trial operation of Gangavaram Port, a deep water port, a few days ago, he said.
The traffic throughput of the ports in Andhra Pradesh (excluding Visakhapatnam port), it is estimated, will reach the level of 145 million tonnes (mt) by 2011-12, the final year of the Eleventh Plan, as against 21 mt in 2007-08. The commissioning of the Krishnapatnam and Gangavaram ports is to double the throughput to 42 mt in the current financial year itself and further to 65 mt in 2009-10 and 95 mt in 2010-11 as more and more berths will be added to these ports. In fact, more than one-third of the projected 145 mt of traffic by 2011-12 is to be handled by Gangavaram and Krishnapatnam ports — Gangavaram port 35 mt and Krishnapatnam port 27 mt.
These ports, as Mr Brahmananda Reddy pointed out, would trigger industrial activity around them as well as in the hinterland. A case in point was the upcoming large capacity power plants around Krishnapatnam Port. A special economic zone too would come up to cash in on the facilities to be offered by the port, he said.
But, then, building capacity is one thing and utilisation is another. The pertinent question that arises is: will there be enough business for these ports? Or will they indulge in unfair practices to cut into one another’s business?‘Business for all’
According to Mr C. Sasidhar, Director (Administration) of Krishnapatnam Port, there will be business for all. The existing ports suffer from capacity constraints, leading to very high turnaround times for vessels, causing losses to the exporters and importers, he said, emphasising the need for additional port facilities.
A senior executive of Gangavaram Port said the growth prospects in the region being bright, there must be enough port facilities to meet the growing demand of importers and exporters. He cited the example of Visakhapatnam port, where pre-berthing delays varied from seven to 14 days.
On the other hand, Gangavaram port, the country’s deepest port, has installed a 800-mt conveyor to carry imported raw material directly from the port to the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant. “It will become much cheaper for exporters and importers operating out of our ports,” he said.
Andhra Pradesh, with one major port and 14 non-major ports, ranked number two in cargo handling in the last three years, with cargo handling capacity having increased substantially between 1998 and 2008. The State Government has initiated steps to help several non-major ports come up in the State under private initiative and these include Gangavaram, Krishnapatnam, Machilipatnam, Vodarevu, Nizampatnam, Meghavaram (Srikakulam district) and Kakinada (deep water port), the last two being captive ports.
While the Meghavaram port would be captive port of East Coast Energy and Power Systems, Kaninada port would be captive port for the Kakinada SEZ.
Machilipatnam port is to be developed by a consortium comprising Maytas Infra and Nagarjuna Construction Company. The concession agreement for the Rs 1,580-crore project was signed in April 2008. Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, the Chief Minister, laid the foundation stone for the project in the same month.
In March 2008, the State Government signed an agreement with Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) for developing two ports at Vodarevu (Prakasam district) and Nizapatnam and an industrial corridor connecting the two. A special purpose vehicle with Matrix Enport as a joint venture partner was signed.The shipyard proposal
Meanwhile, the Union Government wants to have a shipyard of international standard come up at Vodarevu, on the east coast.
Responding to the proposal mooted by the Union Minister for Shipping, Road and Highways, Mr T.R. Baalu, in April this year, the Chief Minister offered to make available 2,000 acres of land within six months for the proposed shipyard which, when ready, is to give a major boost to the proposed port corridor.
“The total private investments in various port projects will be about Rs 21,710 crore, including Rs 16,800 crore for the Nizampatnam and Vodarevu ports and the corridor,” Mr Brahmananda Reddy said, adding that “the port development programme of Andhra Pradesh fits well into the revised National Maritime Development Programme, which aims to develop total port capacity of 1,500 mt in the country by 2011-12.”

Business Line: ‘Rakhi’ bonds courier cos with consumers

by Shubhra Tandon on 09 Aug 2008

When physical distances keep loved ones apart, festivals become occasions to express emotions. And courier companies are doing their bit, designing innovative gift packs to bridge distances and to be part of the festive season.
Celebrations get underway, starting with Rakshabandhan next week, and Blue Dart with its ‘Rakhi Express’, Gati’s ‘Rishton ki Dor’ and XPS’ ‘Anmol Rakhi’, look to make the festival special for siblings separated by distances.
These gift packs contain sandalwood or designer rakhis, and ornate boxes of ‘roli and chawal’. In fact, there are even special envelopes to beat any weather condition and keep your rakhi safe!
Depending on whether you are sending your gift to domestic or international locations, the gift packs are priced between Rs 100 and Rs 3,000.
Though courier companies say that these special offerings during festivals cannot be viewed as an outright business opportunity, they do enable companies to create brand awareness and target new customers.
Speaking to Business Line, Mr Ketan Kulkarni, Blue Dart’s Head of Marketing, Communications and Sustainability says, “Products like our ‘Rakhi Express’ become innovation platforms for us to reach the young future consumers. It gives customers a chance to experience the brand and enables us to tap newer segments.”
Echoing his thoughts is Mr Anil Atri, Gati’s Chief of Sales and Marketing. “Festivals become special occasions to bond with the customers. One can establish the brand value by creating linkages between consumers and the company,” he said.
Gati has seen an annual growth of 10 to 15 per cent in its Rakhi product, and Blue Dart’s ‘Rakhi Express’ expects to grow by 40 per cent every year.
In the past too, companies have distributed cakes on Christmas and Haleem during Ramzan, says Mr Atri.
Blue Dart’s Mr Kulkarni adds, these products have an emotional side to them and go beyond “pure commercial gains”.