To revamp its cargo zone and meet the increasing demand for storage and handling space, Brussels Airport is reportedly planning to invest EUR 70 million over the next three years. The construction work in this regard is likely to begin later this week. By 2025, three new modern and sustainable buildings, including parking areas, will be opened at Brussels Airport cargo zone, called Brucargo Central. Arnaud Feist, CEO, Brussels Airport Company said, “The redevelopment of the central area of the cargo zone and of new cargo buildings and offices at the airport site will allow the airport to welcome new partners and offer new and current partners’ warehouses and offices that are larger, more efficient, modern, and sustainable. Accelerating the development of the cargo zone is one of the priorities within the new strategy of Brussels Airport.”

As part of its fleet augmentation plans, Zyngo will deploy 18,000 electric vehicles (EVs) for last-mile delivery (LMD) in the country by this fiscal-end. These EVs are being leased/sourced by the company from various domestic original equipment makers, officials from Zyngo EV Mobility said in a statement. The company said it is planning to venture into other markets such as Pune, Ahmedabad, Indore, Chennai, Lucknow, and Bhopal, among others. It already has its presence in Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Jaipur aand Chandigarh. “The company said it has been partnering with the OEMs based on robust Service Level Agreements, wherein the maintenance and servicing of the vehicles is covered by the respective OEMs,” the statement added. Prateek Rao, Founder-CEO, Zyngo EV Mobility, said, “Currently, we are on track to increase our fleet size by up to 18,000 EVs by FY 2023-end. As a part of this, we are targeting deployment of 10,000 EVs across various locations by November 2022, and then the rest by March 2023, to fulfil the growing market needs and to increase our business propositions by 10 times more.”

To transform the airport’s air cargo processes, Kale Logistics Solutions has signed an agreement with at GMR Cargo Hyderabad International Airport (GHIAL). Kale plans to transform air cargo processes at GHIAL with a unique air cargo solution that is a combination of its flagship Cargo Community System and Cargo Management System, GALAXY. The solution encompasses courier, international, and domestic cargo operations for the airport. “We are proud to have been associated with 100 air cargo stations globally,” said Amar More, Co-Founder and CEO, Kale Logistics Solutions. “With our portfolio, we look forward to helping the industry thrive in an increasingly digital-first world. These solutions connect over 3,000 cargo agents, more than 125 airlines, processing over three million annual payments and exchanging more than 10 million EDI messages globally,” added More.

Digital logistics start-up, Fre8wise has launched Quasi-Blockchain and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) solutions for the logistics industry. The advanced tech-solutions will help the industry deal with issues like lack of integration between customer’s ERP and government portals such as FOIS, FMS, PMS, i3MS, e-way Bill among others. It will also help eliminate manual and paper-based systems that cause delays and errors. It will also help improve visibility, and control pilferage and theft.

With an aim to expand its network, CargoAi has teamed up with North American airfreight trucking firm, Air Cargo Inc (ACI). According to the reports, the partnership will provide ACI’s customers access to CargoAi’s freight forwarding booking solution, while the portal’s user will be able to access ACI’s transport services. “The CargoAi platform will allow existing and ACI’s customers to access air and ground services and get up-to-date and accurate information on their shipments through a single platform,” said a statement. “This collaboration is designed to grow both companies’ ability to deliver to their customers the most innovative and advanced way of managing their shipments through CargoAi’ freight forwarding solution,” the statement added.

Logistics giant, Delhivery recorded growth in revenue at Rs. 7,241 Cr in 2021-22 FY22 from Rs. 4,450 crore in 2020-21, indicating a rise of 63 per cent YoY. The company announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended March 31, 2022 on Tuesday. Underlying reported revenue increased by 89 per cent to Rs 6,882 crore in 2021-22 from Rs 3,647 cr in 2020-21. The company also delivered full-year operating profitability with an adjusted EBITDA of Rs. 72 crore and Adjusted Cash Profit After Tax (PAT) of Rs. 212 crore in 2021-22. Adjusted Cash PAT is arrived at after adjusting 2021-22 PAT for one-time/ non-recurring expenses and non-cash expenses, including depreciation/ lease expenses, amortization, and ESOP costs. This profitability is a testament to the scale-driven operating leverage of the business, stated a company statement.

Port-led development in the country has taken place under Sagarmala project in a big way, said Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister for Port and Shipping, while addressing the media recently. Sonowal added that the project will be the growth engine for the ports, especially major ports in the country. The project was taken up for fast development in the country. The minister said the government has spent Rs 99,000 crore for the project and took up 215 projects under Sagarmala. He said the projects are likely to be completed by 2035. “All the major ports have been performing well and the cargo handling has reached to 105 million tonnes at present, Modernization had been taken up in all the major ports and using latest technology to provide best facilities for the port users,” Sonowal said.

To meet the fast-growing demand for perishables in Brisbane, DHL Global Forwarding has opened a new 4,880 sq. mt. facility at Brisbane Airport, which houses the largest international cold chain services. The new facility will support the growth of general cargo in Queensland, Australia and is set to be ready by early 2023. George Lawson, Managing Director, DHL Global Forwarding Australia said in an official statement, “We are also planning to invest AUD 17 million (EUR 11 million) over a period of 10 years. The expansion of our facilities at Brisbane airport reflect the growth in exports, especially perishable exports. Brisbane’s economy is forecast to surge by 2031 and with this new facility, we are ready to support our customers’ growth.”

Emirates SkyCargo’s brand new cargo freighter, Boeing 777F departed Boeing’s facilities at Everett in Washington recently. According to the reports, this is Emirates SkyCargo’s 11th B777F aircraft with registration number A6-EFT, while also having MSN 67462 and line number 1713. Prior to its delivery flight, the aircraft had conducted five test flights, which took seven hours. The freighter first headed over the Pacific Ocean on a nearly 13-hour flight to Hong Kong on May 28 and spent about two hours on the ground before departing for Dubai World Central (DWC).

India is likely to get its first semi-high speed freight train under Gati Shakti by December. The trains, with 16 coaches each, will be manufactured at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai. These freight trains will run at a speed of 160 kmph akin to the Vande Bharat Trains, says reports. A K Agarwal, ICF GM said, “The design work of these trains has already started. Two of these trains will be manufactured by December. More number will be manufactured depending on the market’s response. We are planning to target e-commerce and courier parcel services by introducing these trains.” Every train will have refrigerated wagons in the rear and in the front to carry perishables products. Power connection for these trains will be provided by the coach. The rest of the coaches will have rollers for moving the container.