Within a year of starting transshipment facility for Bangladeshi cargo, Delhi airport has moved over 8,000 metric tonnes (MT) of readymade garments from the neighbouring country to various parts of the world, including  Spain, Netherlands and France, according to data shared by Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) last week.
Transshipment facility for Bangladeshi cargo was started at Delhi airport on March 3 last year, after the Centre allowed DIAL to act as a transshipment hub for export cargo between Bangladesh and other international destinations. The move coincides with the Centre’s plan to develop Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport as the country’s first international hub airport.
Talking about the benefits of the transshipment facility, a DIAL official told India Today, “The Bangladesh cargo influx into Delhi has motivated airlines to enhance their capacity at Delhi Airport, providing Indian exporters with more options in terms of capacity, destinations, and economically beneficial choices.”
According to sources at DIAL, the move has also reduced shipment costs for manufacturers in Bangladesh, and boosted exports of international cargo via Delhi airport, covering a spectrum of products from ready-made garments and handlooms to footwear, leather products, jute products, and pharmaceuticals. Readymade garment exports contributed 84.5 per cent of Bangladesh’s total exports, valued at nearly $47 billion in the 2022-23 financial year, according to data shared by the Bangladesh government. The move to develop Delhi as a transshipment hub, connecting Bangladesh and the world, also highlights Delhi’s significance as an international cargo hub bridging the East and the West. The airport has transshipped around 5.17 lakh metric tonnes of cargo between April last year and January this year, shared DIAL.
Delhi airport has two integrated cargo terminals with an annual cargo handling capacity of 1.8 million MT, which is scalable to 2.3 million MT, according to DIAL. As a nod to the need for quick turnaround time for cargo, the Delhi airport has installed 28 dual-view X-ray machines for international general cargo processing. Five extra X-ray machines have been installed for handling Bangladesh cargo, to avoid any congestion for general cargo. It is the first and only airport in the country to have 12 dedicated freighter parking bays.