Marking its entry in the State of Telangana, IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd. (IRB) has been awarded 158 Kms (1,264 Lane Kms) Hyderabad Outer Ring Road (ORR) highway development project under Toll-Operate-Transfer (TOT) model with revenue linked Concession Period of 30 Years for upfront consideration of Rs. 7,380 Crores. Virendra D. Mhaiskar, Chairman & Managing Director, IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd., said, “Proud to add this prestigious project to our portfolio, taking our asset base to over Rs.70,000 Crores and share in TOT space to 37%, the largest by any private player in India.” He added, “We express our sincere gratitude towards all authorities and stakeholders. We endeavor to execute this project through our Pvt InvIT platform.” The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) had invited global competitive bids for the project; in which the Company had participated and emerged as the selected bidder. After signing the concession agreement, the project SPV will be making the payment of Rs. 7,380 Crores within a span of 120 days. About Hyderabad Outer Ring Road (ORR) Project: The Hyderabad Outer Ring Road (ORR) is a 158 Kilometers, 8 lanes ring road expressway encircling Hyderabad, Capital City of Telangana State. Opened up in December 2012, the large part of around 124 Kms of ORR covers urban nodes like Hi-Tech City, Nanakramguda Financial District, International Airport, IKP Knowledge Park, Hardware Park, Telangana State Police Academy, Singapore Financial District and Game Village. The ORR has well established connectivity with other important National Highways and State Highways.

The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) announced that Kenya Airports will host the “TIACA Event – Africa”. The event will be held in June 19-21, 2023 in Nairobi, Kenya. TIACA is very pleased to work with Kenya Airports Authority to organize a first-class event, which will bring together members, partners and those that want to do business or those that are already doing business in Africa. The aim of this event is to bring the air cargo community together to identify and discuss specific issues that affect the industry at the regional level. “We are excited to organize the TIACA Event – Africa in Nairobi. The support we will receive from Kenya Airports Authority as host will be invaluable to the attendees, the association and the industry.” Steven Polmans, TIACA Chair. Kenya Airports Authority will welcome international delegates along with their local air cargo community to Emara Hotel Ole Sereni, June 19th for an evening of networking at the Welcome Reception. The next two days, TIACA will organize a conference program that will be focused on all of Africa and will include keynote addresses, panel sessions and presentations that will cover topical issues that affect air cargo operations into, out of and within Africa. “We are honored to host the first “TIACA Event” in Africa, a testament to our commitment to developing and enhancing the air cargo industry on the continent.” KAA MD Alex Gitari said. “At Kenya Airports Authority, we recognize the importance of collaboration and knowledge-sharing in driving innovation and growth in the air cargo industry. This TIACA event will provide a valuable platform for industry stakeholders to come together and address the challenges and opportunities facing the …

To brainstorm on world-class cold chain infrastructure to store and transport Pharma in India, CargoTalk Digital Conclave in association with Cargo Service Center (CSC) invites trade to join an exclusive webinar on 5th May, 2023 at 11.00 a.m. The panelists include Satish Lakkaraju, Senior VP, Global Head-Air Freight and Pharma, WIZ Freight, Radar Ventures, Tushar Jani, Group Chairman, Cargo Service Center, Rashmi Karnad Gurung, Manager Climate Control Product, Qatar Airways. The session will be moderated by Mr. SanJeet, CEO, DDP Group. CargoTalk has collaborated with Cargo Service Center for Pharma Talkathon – A series of knowledge-sharing sessions on everything about pharma. The topic for the webinar is ‘Need for Cold Chain Infrastructure to store and transport Pharma.’ Register now! https://lnkd.in/dwHm_Cui

KSH Distriparks has announced the acquisition of 40 new trailers to upgrade its existing fleet of 80 trailers. With the addition of new vehicles, the company’s total fleet strength now stands at 120 trailers. Acquisition of new trailers is a strategic move by KSH Distriparks to penetrate the lighter vehicle segment and focus on increasing its trailer transportation share in the Pune region. The company caters to the trailer transportation needs of several OEMs, Shipping Lines, CHAs, and Forwarders. The new vehicles will enhance serviceability across hinterland locations in Ahmednagar, Supa, Aurangabad, Kolhapur, and more. “Addition of 40 trailers is a significant investment for us, and we believe it will help us serve our customers better and also expand our reach in the region. The new trailers are GPS-enabled to provide real-time visibility into container movements and are equipped with the latest safety features to continuously deliver reliable, efficient, and secure transportation services,” said Mr. Malcolm Dsouza, Chief Commercial Officer, KSH Distriparks. He further adds, “India’s container market is on a growth trajectory and we are inclined towards increasing our efficiencies and capabilities to tap a major market share and grow our business in and around Pune in Maharashtra in the ICD segment.” With this acquisition, KSH Distriparks reiterates its commitment to providing the best possible trailer transportation services to its customers. The company is confident that the new trailers will help enhance its capabilities, expand its service area, and increase its market share in the region.

The outlook for air cargo in 2023-2024 remains mixed with several factors set to impact performance. Speaking at IATA’s World Cargo Symposium in Istanbul, IATA economist Bojun Wang predicted that air cargo demand was set to decline by 4% this year compared with 2022 levels. He said that this reflected the ongoing challenging economic environment. Wang pointed out that the International Monetary Fund had recently downgraded its GDP growth outlook for the year to 2.8% from a previous forecast of 2.9%. This figure also lags behind the 3.4% recorded in 2022 and the historical average of around 3.8%. “We had a challenging year in 2022 with the war in Ukraine, a high inflation rate, high oil prices and the Covid-19 pandemic – these headwinds haven’t really gone away in the new year of 2023,” Wang said. On the other hand, inflation is expected to have peaked in 2022, he said. Wang added that yields are expected to decline by around 23% this year, following on from a 7% increase last year, a 24% increase in 2021 and a 50% increase in 2020. “23% seems like a big shift but if you look at the growth in 2021, 2022 and 2023, it is just returning from a high level,” he said. This yield and demand decline will in turn put pressure on air cargo revenues, although they are expected to remain more than 50% above pre-Covid levels. Looking at IATA’s latest supply and demand figures compared with pre-Covid levels, Wang said that in February demand in cargo tonne km terms had increased by 2.9% against the same month in 2019. Meanwhile, capacity in February was up by 1.3% compared with the …

Blue Dart Express Limited announced that it has equipped its platforms with what3words location technology through which Blue Dart stakeholders can add their what3words address in the address section of the ‘My Blue Dart’ App, Blue Dart website and On the Move (OTM) platform for enabling them to specify a very precise delivery location—be it the front door of their home/ office, a specific apartment complex entrance, or a tucked-away side passage. For example, swimmer.kindness.habits is the what3words location for Blue Dart Head Office in Andheri, Mumbai. By typing these three words on the what3words portal or website, one can easily find, share and navigate to the location from anywhere in the world. The technology is also available offline and in 54 languages including 12 South Asian languages: Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Kannada, Nepali, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Punjabi, and Odia. Ketan Kulkarni, Chief Commercial Officer, Blue Dart says, ” Given the customer centricity values that Blue Dart carries, we partnered with what3words to stand true to our brand commitment of Customer Convenience and Delight. The three-word addressing will not only provide a seamless last mile delivery but will also increase delivery efficacy by reaching the precise location (within 3m of space) as specified by the customer. We believe that as the use of what3words grows, it will provide a unique way for us to deliver to specific locations, particularly in areas with informal addresses.”

Ahead of its Annual Conclave 2023 on May 3rd at Le Meridian in New Delhi, Air Cargo Forum India (ACFI) organized a power packed curtain raiser cum press conference at Udaan Bhavan, DIAL on 25th April 2023 to update the media partners about the key highlights of the event, with the theme Cargo Udaan – Connecting and Empowering Indian Skies. Mr. Satish Lakkaraju, Chairman, ACFI will be moderating the insightful panel discussions on the importance of Air Cargo in today’s world, Mr. Sanjiv Edward, VP ACFI will moderate session on Opportunities and Challenges in International Air Cargo, while, Mr. Keku Bomi Gazder, Member ACFI will be moderating panel discussion on potential of Domestic Air Cargo. Mr. Yashpal Sharma, President informed that they have very interesting line-up of speakers this year, who are air cargo experts. Sharma also stressed that since its inception, ACFI has been striving hard to take up the key issues and challenges with the respective ministries and seeking solutions for the same. The ultimate goal of ACFI is to collaborate and move forward for growth, he said. The event was hosted by Sakshi Gupta, Country Manager, Air Logistics Group. Mr. K S Kunwar, DG ACFI briefed about ACFI’s initiatives. Vote of Thanks was given by Mr. Munish Davessar, Head-Cargo Business Development, Delhi International Airport Limited.

Allana Cold Chain Solutions has announced its expansion in operations with the construction of storage facilities in Kolkata, Kakinada, and Dera Bassi. With the additions of Kakinada and Dera Basi facilities, the total holding capacity will increase to 65,000 tonnes. This expansion is a testament to Allana Cold Chain Solutions’ commitment to providing end-to-end solutions by integrating the experience and expertise in blast freezing, packing, inspection, freight forwarding and customized offerings to varied sectors and reputed clients such as McCain Foods, Britannia Industries, Morde Foods, Abbott India, Sapphire Foods (KFC supplier), Varun Beverages, Mars International and others, ensuring integrity of cold chain logistics requirements throughout the process. The new facility will pave the way for the company to serve a wide range of customers in the food, pharmaceutical and other industries that heavily rely on efficient cold storage and transportation. The company currently operates and manages cold storages in Uttar Pradesh (Ghaziabad, Aligarh, Unnao) with a holding capacity of 11000 tonnes, Kolkata (2800 tonnes), Mewat, Haryana (2000 tonnes), Mumbai and Aurangabad (28000 tonnes) and Zaheerabad, Telangana (6500 tonnes). It also boasts a state-of-the-art fleet of 125 refrigerated trailers and trucks up to 40 feet in length, a rare sight on India’s inland logistics routes, monitored 24/7 through a modern “Transport Control Tower” in Mumbai.

DP World has launched a new double-stack freight train facility to improve efficiencies and connectivity between its inland terminal at Ahmedabad and the Mundra port. The maiden train was flagged off from Mundra in early April with a full payload. The double stack train service will further boost the connectivity of Ahmedabad and will drive better efficiency and significantly lower the overall logistics cost for cargo movement on the route even with fewer rakes, owing to the lower haulage rates and lesser or zero port ground rent (PGR) resulting from the faster evacuation of containers from the port. Adhendru Jain, CEO Rail and Inland Terminal, DP World Subcontinent said, “Robust infrastructure and efficient logistics are crucial for boosting economic growth and exports. We are committed to strengthening our supply chain and enabling seamless connectivity to help our customers move their goods quickly and reliably to global and domestic markets. The new double stacked rail freight service will boost cargo carrying capacity substantially and will open new markets for MSMEs in and around Gujarat by leveraging DP World’s world-class integrated multimodal logistics infrastructure.”

WestJet Cargo together with the GTA Group launched three 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighters in Toronto and in Halifax. The event marks the start of a dedicated cargo service designed to fulfill the large-scale needs of businesses, freight forwarders, shippers and individual customers across an expanding network. WestJet Cargo and the GTA Group’s dedicated freighters will now begin operating between six stations in Halifax, Calgary, Los Angeles, Miami, Toronto and Vancouver. Integrating into WestJet Group’s existing network, WestJet Cargo and the GTA group’s dedicated freighters will work in tandem with the cargo carrying bellies of WestJet’s existing fleet of over a hundred 737 aircraft and use the group’s highly skilled 737 pilots. With a payload of 23 tons, the three freighters will have a weekly capacity of over 1500 tons. Their operation will create global connectivity and open trade lanes between Canada and the Caribbean, Europe, Japan and the United States. In addition to the broad range of commodities already carried by WestJet Cargo such as perishables, e-commerce and live animals, the dedicated freighters have enabled a broad expansion of the carrier’s service offerings, including the capacity to carry oversized items and unitized e-commerce containers.