Maharaja Bir Bikram airport has started its cargo service from Thursday, with the inauguration of the newly built Cargo Bhawan by the Transport Minister Sushanta Chowdhury. The new cargo building, covering an area of 1,272 square meters, has been constructed at a cost of Rs 17 crore. It is expected that around 40,150 MT goods could be transported annually, which is ten times more in quantity than the previous facility. The new cargo services will be primarily provided by Indigo Airlines.
The new cargo building at Maharaja Bir Bikram airport has modern facilities for storage of perishable and non-perishable goods, hazardous goods, and cold storage. It is the second-largest cargo complex in the northeastern region after the one at Guwahati airport.
Airport Authority of India (AAI) officials informed that there have been no outgoing cargo operations since December 2022 as the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) shut down the old cargo facility due to security reasons. This created difficulties for post offices, courier services, and other trade and export-related services. The commencement of the new cargo service is expected to solve the problem.
Transport Minister Chowdhury said that the present government has been giving emphasis on early commencement of different services to boost the economy. The cargo service and prepaid auto services had been introduced at the airport for this purpose. He also thanked Indigo Airlines for providing such services and expressed hope that other airlines would come forward to do the same. He stated that the recommencement of cargo service would help the state’s businessmen to a great extent.
The Transport Minister also mentioned that the government is focusing on improving airways and railways, as emphasized by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He announced that if everything goes well, Agartala-Chittagong airline services would start from the first week of June, and later initiatives will be taken to start airline services directly from Agartala to Singapore, Bangkok, etc.
Chowdhury also said that as it was not easy to move Maharaja’s statue from the old airport, a new bronze statue of Maharaja Bir Bikram has been built at the cost of about Rs 35 lakh. He added that the present government is continuing the flow of development for the sole purpose of public welfare, and the state’s development is being escalated with the sincere efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Prof. (Dr.) Manik Saha.
On this occasion, Secretary of Transport department Uttam Kumar Chakma, Director of Airport Authority K. S. Meena, West Tripura DM & Collector Debapriya Bardhan, Commissioner of Transport department Subrata Choudhury, and other dignitaries were present.
