Blue Dart to pump in Rs 1,000cr over the next 5 yrs

New Delhi, Sept 11 (UNI) Leading air express transportation company Blue Dart Express Ltd today said it plans to infuse about Rs 1,000 crore in the next five to eight years.

''We will invest the money over the short to medium term infrastruture, aircraft, warehouses, transit hubs and to upgrade our technology,'' company's Managing Director Anil Khanna told reporters here, while launching its ground express product 'Surfaceline'.

The company will also shore up its ground market share from 5.8 per cent to 20 per cent over the next five years.

''Currently, we have a modest market share in the ground segment but we aim to achieve market leadership in the express industry, over the next five years by touching 20 per cent market share,'' Mr Khanna said.

The company launched the new initiative 'Surfaceline', to extend its leadership position in air express to the ground express segment.

''Our main objective is to create a niche for ourselves and to strengthen our customer reach by fulfilling their needs and demand.

Our quality distribution will facilitate trade and stimulate the economy.'' Blue Dart is also mulling to set up 58 warehouses in the country by the end of this calender year, currently it has about 40 warehouses in the country.

It reaches out to 14,600 locations with its current air express network, and the new ground infrastructure will augment its capability through expansion to 1,500 locations.

The company presently operates four Boeing 737s, two Boeing 757s and hope to induct another Boeing 757 in next two to three months.

Blue Dart is holding a market share of 41.7 per cent in the domestic air express segment and offers domestic air payload of 300 tonnes per day, which it expects to upgrade to 360 tonnes per day by the end of this year.

In addition to improvement in the road infrastruture, the growing Indian economy warrants more efficient logistics support.

The tier II and tier III cities offer increasing opportunities for Blue Dart's Surfaceline. Owning to the growing affluence of consumers, these areas witnesses rapid growth in demand in the recent past.

''The emergence of SEZs, EPUs and IT parks also present exciting prospects for our new service,'' Mr Khanna said.

UNI