MASkargo to upgrade cargo complex

Malaysia Airlines Cargo (MASkargo) plans to invest 100 million ringgit (US$30 million) to upgrade the material handling system of its cargo handling complex at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) over the next four years, according to MASkargo.

“Although the business environment remains challenging, we in the industry are expecting 2010 to be less volatile with moderate growth forecasted,” said MASkargo managing director Shahari Sulaiman.

Sulaiman said the upgrade would commence in mid-year for completion in four years. “This is to mitigate the risk of technology obsolescence and hardware scarcity. The move will sustain our system capabilities for another 10 years,” he said. “This also supports our aim to increase annual handling capabilities from the current 650,000 tonnes to a million tonnes,” he added.

He went on to say that global air cargo volumes were forecast to grow by 7 per cent this year to 37.7 million tonnes. “This is stronger than the five per cent forecast last September.”

He added that cargo demand was rising faster than the world trade volume as depleted inventories were being restocked. “Once the inventory cycle completes, growth is expected to fall back in line with the world trade volume,” he said adding that air cargo demand shrank by 13 per cent for the full-year 2009 compared to a year earlier.

“MASkargo managed to benefit from the upturn for this period (fourth quarter) with increases in revenue, load factor and yields compared with the previous three quarters,” he said citing growth in the Asia- Pacific region, largely driven by China.

Besides upgrading its cargo facility, MASkargo plans to grow its freighter network and develop its partnership with Hainan Airlines Group in China.