Bangalore: Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) will sign separate contracts on Tuesday with national-flag carrier Air India-Singapore Airport Terminal Services (SATS) consortium and the Menzies Aviation Plc-Bobba Group joint venture to provide cargo handling operations at the proposed international airport at Devanahalli.

"The two cargo concessions spanning 20 years each with successful private cargo operators will be signed on Tuesday," sources familiar with the development told The Hindu . The BIAL Board cleared the technical and financial bids submitted by the Air India consortium and the Menzies consortium at a meeting on April 7.

Six consortia had submitted technical and financial proposals to provide cargo facilities at the airport. Of these, BIAL selected two independent operators, who will design, build, finance, operate and maintain all facilities for efficient cargo terminal operations and expand them gradually based on growth in cargo volumes with the aim of developing the new airport as a regional hub for cargo.

Positions

Based on the technical and financial bids, the BIAL Board had ranked Air India/SATS, Menzies Aviation/Bobba Group and Swissport International/Cargo Service Centre in the first three positions.

The second ranked consortium led by Menzies Aviation has won the deal by agreeing to commercially match the first-ranked consortium, Air India, which is a market leader in cargo and ground-handling operations at airports.

This will be the second cargo contract for Menzies Aviation in the country. It has already won a 15-year cargo contract from GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd., the special purpose vehicle (SPV) which is building an international airport in Hyderabad to operate a warehouse with a capacity of one-lakh tonnes.

U.K. based-Menzies Aviation Plc., which has a presence in more than 20 countries, provides cargo-handling services.

BIAL has decided to go in for a redesign as Bangalore has recorded traffic growth at the HAL airport — from 2.3 million passengers in 2001 to about five million passengers in 2005. A recent study conducted by Lufthansa Consulting has estimated the international airport's opening year (2008) traffic flow at 6.7 million passengers. Private promoters, such as Siemens Projects Ventures, Larsen & Toubro and Unique Zurich Airport, hold a combined stake of 74 per cent in BIAL.

The Karnataka State Investment and Industrial Development Corporation and the Airports Authority of India hold the remaining equity. The airport is expected to start operations in April 2008.

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