POSCO ICT, a subsidiary of South Korea’s leading steelmaker POSCO, said Tuesday it will begin efforts to export its baggage handling system to countries like China, Iran and Saudi Arabia, where many new airports are being built.

The company’s self-developed system enables the automatic transfer of travelers’ luggage from the airport terminal to planes using readable tags attached to the bags. 

Originally developed to fit large airports that see more than 40 million visitors annually, including Korea’s main Incheon International Airport, the baggage management system has been redesigned to fit midsized airports as well, targeting a growing potential clientele of airports in developing countries overseas.

“We will be able to secure our competitiveness in overseas markets by drastically lowering the development period and costs by turning the existing system into a solution,” POSCO ICT said in a statement.

The firm said it is particularly eyeing new business in China, which has put forward plans to construct 100 new airports annually to eventually open 2,000 additional airports across the country by 2030.

The world baggage handling market, currently valued at an estimated $6.45 billion, is forecast to grow at an annual rate of 7.8 percent until 2020, according to a 2015 report by Markets and Markets.

By Sohn Ji-young (jys@heraldcorp.com)