Kolkata, West Bengal, India, 2008-09-27, 01:45:03 (IndiaPRwire.com):
West Bengal Friday got its first Centre for Perishable Cargo (CPC) at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport here. It was inaugurated by Minister of State for Commerce, Industry and Power Jairam Ramesh.
The CPC has an annual storage capacity of 12,000 million tonnes, 10 times higher than the present export of perishable goods from the Kolkata airport.
'Its installed capacity should be utilised to the maximum potential,' Ramesh told reporters on the occasion.
The 742.5 square metres CPC, built and operationalised with a 100 percent grant-in-aid of Rs.67.5 million by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) of the commerce ministry, was under trial operation from June 2008.
Kolkata being the gateway for exports to Southeast Asia, the commissioning of this CPC would prove beneficial for West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Jharkhand and all the northeast states.
At present, seasonal fruits, vegetables and chilled fish of perishable category are exported from Kolkata by air.
West Bengal's second CPC is under construction at Bagdogra and will be operational by March 2009, Ramesh said.
APEDA would also finance a Rs.55 million Export Cargo Complex at Haldia. It would be constructed within one year after the state government selected a contractor for the project, Ramesh added.
Indo Asian News Service
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