The perishable cargo storage facility adjacent to Bagdogra airport will be operationalised soon.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has finally agreed to take over the perishable cargo storage and according to the agreement with the state Urban Development and Municipal Affairs (UD & MA) department they will be maintaining it for a period of 20 years.
"The facility that was set up in 2010 by Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority (SJDA) could not be operationalised. We were in constant touch with the AAI and several meetings were held. Finally they have agreed and soon they will start working on it to make it operative," said a senior official of UD & MA department.
It was in March 2016 when the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) mentioned in its compliance audit that the project had been a non-starter because of lack of initiative by the SJDA. The matter was taken up on priority basis and there were several meetings between the UD & MA department and AAI to work out the modalities.
"North Bengal produces various fruits, vegetables and flowers. The infrastructure for perishable cargo will be a big boost for export," said Subrata Gupta, Principal Secretary of UD and MA department.