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Covid vaccines: Dubai-Hyderabad distribution corridor set up

Dubai - It connects major vaccine manufacturers in India with markets around the world via Dubai’s cargo hub.

The Dubai Airports, operator of Dubai International (DXB) and Dubai World Central (DWC), and GMR Hyderabad (GMR-HYD) have joined forces to create a Covid-19 vaccine distribution corridor.

The HYD-DXB vaccine corridor will provide capacity to handle up to 300 tonnes of vaccines per day.

The announcement follows the formalisation of an agreement recently after months of preparations by the two entities to design and create an end-to-end logistics solution. The corridor connects major vaccine manufacturers in India with markets around the world via Dubai’s cargo hub.

Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, said: “A major surge in demand for the efficient, safe and reliable global distribution of high volumes of Covid-19 vaccines is expected in the coming months and ... we wanted to be ready to respond to and accommodate that demand.

“Our partnership with GMR-Hyderabad is timed perfectly just as the global race to develop the vaccines enters the final stage.”

SGK Kishore, Executive Director – South & Chief Innovation Officer, GMR Airports, said, “... Our collaboration with Dubai Airports in the form of an exclusive vaccine air freight corridor will play a key role in enabling seamless, safe and efficient shipment of Covid-19 vaccines to and from Hyderabad, the pharma capital of South Asia.”

Nabil Sultan, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President, Cargo, said Emirates SkyCargo provides “robust flight connectivity” to Hyderabad with more than 10 weekly flights.

“Together with our charter capability, we are well positioned to transport the Covid-19 vaccines from Hyderabad to our hub in Dubai. (Here) we have extensive EU GDP certified infrastructure for pharma, including a dedicated airside hub to store and distribute Covid-19 vaccines before transporting them onwards to the rest of the world, including emerging markets.”

Hyderabad is the world’s emerging vaccine capital with five major producers in its vicinity. Dubai, with its advanced aviation and logistics infrastructure, geocentric location and superior global network, is perfectly positioned as the gateway and distribution hub to efficiently deliver the vaccines to hundreds of cities across Europe, Africa, the Americas and the Middle East.