Logistics and cargo major, DRS plans cargo airlines

New Delhi: Logistics and cargo major, DRS Group, is big on launching a cargo airline and developing a chain across the country, for which it has set aside Rs 280 crore. The company, which had raised Rs 100 crore from private equity player Kotak Mahindra last year, is now raising another Rs 100-crore debt to finance its plans.
“We have applied to the ministry of civil aviation for permission to start a cargo airline. A decision is expected in the next three to four months,” said DRS director AK Aggarwal.
Leased aircraft would be used to run freighter services with DRS brand name. The group plans to launch air freight services on busy trunk routes to test the market and viability of the same.
The second major initiative is to capture a large part of the organised retail supply chain segment in Tier I and Tier II cities. “We have earmarked Rs 200 crore for the expansion of our warehousing capacities for the cold chain,” he said. The plan is to add three million square feet of warehousing space in towns such as Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Nasik and Bhiwadi.
28/05/08 Gunjan Pradhan Sinha/Economic Times

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Categories: Cargo May 2008, New May 2008