Hyderabad: GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo is preparing for the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.
With the vaccines being developed by various organizations across the world, it is equally important for the vaccine to be supplied as soon as possible. As the vaccine develops, the next major issue would be the demand and the timely availability of the vaccine, said T. Purushottam Singh, General Manager, Head operations.
“An infrastructure to handle the Covid-19 vaccine has been developed to enhance the capacity for handling the vaccine supply from and to Hyderabad. The dedicated work station has been set up at the terminals to handle this sensitive shipment of the vaccine. Temperature zone has been developed for maintaining the vaccine. The staff has been given special training to handle the shipment of vaccine right from the acceptance till the shipment reaches the destination,” he told the reporters here.
Purushottam added that they can handle 200 tons of shipment dedicated only for vaccine and are geared up to increase the capacity as per the requirement in no time.
Speaking to reporters, SGK Kishore, Executive Director, South and Chief Innovation Officer, GMR Airports said, “India has emerged as a global pharmaceuticals and vaccine hub producing about 60 per cent of the world’s vaccines. Out of this proportion, Hyderabad is producing over a third of the global vaccine supply. By its robust manufacturing technology and capacity to manufacture millions of doses, Hyderabad will be an integral part of the Covid-19 solution.”
He said that Hyderabad Air Cargo has a major role cut out in the entire value chain of vaccine shipments to maintain the vaccine integrity. The COVID-19 vaccines require specialized handling, which is readily available at GMR Hyderabad Cargo.
We are in the process of expanding specific landside and airside facilities to further handle the spurt in pharma and vaccine shipments. Plans are also in place to increase the storage capacity for various vaccine types, Kishore said.
He further said that the team is closely working with Cool Container providers for maintaining large stock at our station and upgrading the current capacity of Cool Container storage and charging locations to handle the surge in Cool Containers movement.
“As one of the major airport operators in the country, we are happy that we will be playing a major role in this fight against Covid through the distribution of vaccines globally,” Kishore added.