At a meeting of the committee constituted to formulate the National Aviation Policy, the chamber said 200 freighter aircraft will be required in the next 20 years to meet the demand of air cargo industry.
The government should upgrade infrastructure, attract domestic investments and ease norms on foreign direct investments so that the sector growing annually by eight per cent can raise freight traffic at airports from 23.5 lakh tonnes now to 70 lakh tonnes in the next ten years.
�To achieve Indias standing as a global trans-shipment hub, there is a need for simplification of procedures like 100 per cent electronic approvals,� said The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) at the meeting chaired by joint secretary at the civil aviation ministry Asok Kumar.
There should be inter-linkages with airlines, airport operations and air freight stations, customs, banks, clearing house agents and other allied agencies for greater mobility of processes. Land should be demarcated for air cargo villages at airports or nearby regions.
ASSOCHAM said air freight stations should be established in hinterlands to decongest warehouse and offset limitations of space. They should have facilities for palletisation, customs examination and X-ray screening. There should be cargo facilities at tier II and III cities as alternate growth centres.
The dwell time at Indian airports is 40 to 120 hours as compared to international average of 4 to 12 hours. ASSOCHAM said there is need for establishing an Air Cargo Promotional Board for further organised growth and deployment of air cargo hubs across the country.
Automatic storage and retrieval system should be a mandatory requirement for any air cargo terminal exceeding a specified volume of cargo handled. �This will bring discipline, reduce manpower requirements, improve efficiency and eliminate cargo un-traceability.�
The chamber said civil aviation should be granted infrastructure status and aviation turbine fuel should be notified as declared goods (of special importance) with central sales tax of only four per cent.
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