Rs100 cr logistics park to be opened today NAGPUR: Vidarbhas second private inland container depot (ICD-cum-logistics park) will be commissioned on Friday, in culmination of a Rs 100 crore greenfield investment in the region, which is proposed to be doubled in a year. Gurgaon-based Vikram Logistics and Maritime Services will be inaugurating the set up spread over 72 acres at Borkhedi village, 35km from Nagpur. The government-owned Container Corporation of India (CONCOR), an Indian Railway subsidiary, located in the city had set up the first ICD in 1998. Coincidentally, when Concor built the ICD, putting the city on the logistics map, K Sathianathan was a general manager in this PSU. The same person is behind the new logistics park too. Briefing newspersons here, Sathianathan, now managing director at Vikram Logistics, said the unit will start with an initial throughput of 50,000 twenty-feet equivalent units (TEU) annually, with plans to gradually increase the quantum. An initial investment of Rs 100 crore has been put in here, with plans to double it in the next fiscal and also increase eventually. This indicates the growing importance of the region for the logistics majors. Apart from its existing set up at Narendra Nagar, Concor is also setting up a logistics terminal in the Mihan area. Owing to the citys central location, the Future Group too has set up a major warehousing facility at Mihan catering to retail stores in various parts of the country. In Wardha, M/s World Windows is operating a private container depot. Sathianathan said the company plans to set up a network of logistics parks which shall offer other container-based logistics services, apart from handling cargo from ports. The one in Nagpur is the first in the list, with the next park planned at Palval in the National Capital Region (NCR), followed by one at Bangalore. Vikram Logistics, which sees Concor as its immediate rival, plans to have a major thrust on domestic cargo apart from that generated in exim trade. Currently, business will be generated from the central region. Traditionally, the region exports rice, steel and textile while the imports include scrap, and PTA, a raw material for polyester makers, said Sathianathan. In the domestic sector, there will be focus on automobile parts, machine tools and liquid cargo. Maruti Udyog Limiteds depot at Butibori is being eyed for prospective business. However, Sathianathan said not many new industries have come up in the region over the years, though the existing units have been expanded, which the new logistics players can eye for business. On the prospects for the logistic sector in the country, he said, it needed a single platform for approvals. Now, since the shipping and road transport ministries have been integrated, there has to be focus on increasing the infrastructure, which is severely lagging. There need to be better roads, and improved facilities at the ports, said stakeholders. Source: The Times of India
Posted on: Tue, 22 Jul 2014 06:17:53 +0000
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