Kuala Lumpur - As China and India vie to gain an edge on the economic front, both nations are also competing indirectly to transform their "Airport Cities" into major aviation hubs.
India, the world's third-largest economy, is making efforts towards expanding major airports such as the New Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport, the Hyderabad Rajiv Gandhi International Airport and Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Airport.
"As the world's third largest economy after the United States and China, the development of our airport cities will play a crucial role in economic development," said Rajeev Jain, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GVK Group, the operator of the Mumbai and Bangalore International Airports.
He said this in his presentation at the 13th Airport Cities World Conference and Exhibition here on Tuesday. The three-day event ends Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Hyderabad and New Delhi airports operator, GMR Airports CEO, S G K Kishore said the company was the developing the former as a "Cargo Village", with a world class terminal for the processing of bulk, express cargo and mail.
China, not to be left behind in the airports development race, is moving to develop the Zhenhgzhou Xinzheng International Airport in Zhengzhou, as an international air cargo hub.
This follows the launch of a freight train service from Zhenhgzhou, the capital of Henan province, to Hamburg (Germany), said Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone (ZAEZ) Director, Zhang Yanming.
"The train service from Zhengzhoung to Hamburg crosses six countries and is a key factor towards making the Zhengzhou Airport, an air cargo hub," he added.
He said by merging the airport with aviation, high technology and other modern industries, the airport city will become an international logistics hub. – SAnews.gov.za-NNN-Bernama
