Punj Lloyd enters into ground handling JV with Swissport

New Delhi, Sep 12 (UNI) Engineering and construction major Punj Lloyd Limited (PLL) today entered into 49:51 joint venture with Swissport International, a world leader in the ground handling industry.

''This joint venture will enable Punj Lloyd to enter into a new business field in the aviation sector in India, which has robust growth opportunities,'' Punj Lloyd Ltd Chairman Atul Punj said.

Punj Lloyd is keen to bring world class ground handling facilities in India to service the rapidly increasing passengers and growing aircraft fleet of Indian carriers, he said.

''This JV is a significant business opportunity that will open up new avenues for developing Swissport International's core competencies in ground handling in India and enable us to serve this market with the same high quality standards that we provide all around the world,'' Swissport International President and CEO Joseph In Albon said.

Leveraging on Swissport's brand and know-how and Punj Lloyd's local expertise, both partners will take advantage of this JV to develop projects in the Indian ground handling sector, Mr Albon said.

Swissport International Ltd, which is owned by Ferrovial, is one of the leading European infrastructure and service corporation based in Spain amd provides ground services for over 70 million passengers and 3.2 million tonnes of cargo a year on behalf of some 650 client companies.

With its workforce of around 21,000 personnel, Swissport is active at 182 airports in 41 countries on five continents and generated consolidated operating revenue of 1,315 million dollars in 2005.

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