Connectivity options for Karnataka hinterland along with shipping lines, ports and warehousing services offered for shippers of the state were discussed in detail
Digitalisation has brought in a paradigm shift in the logistics sector and riding on this digital tide is Cogoport offering cutting-edge solutions, introduced Kunal Rathod, Co-founder of the organisation. Cogoport is the Amazon of logistics connecting shippers with service provider to move cargo globally in a very transparent and cost efficient way. The company aims to fill the technology gap in the entire global logistics eco-system and empowers shippers and service providers. At the click of a mouse shippers can get live freight rates and break up of their logistics cost along with available service options.
In a first major deal in India’s nascent digital freight logistic startup space, Cogoport has raised approximately Rs 50 crore from Accel Partners. The fund will be deployed for product development and global expansion. The timing is right for disruptors in global logistics and freight category as the market is massive and growing.
Presenting perspective on Karnataka’s trade and logistics, N Krishna Kumar, Vice President – South, MSC Agency (India) Pvt Ltd said, the state is a preferred destination for all the FDI that flows in. In the decade 2000-2018 the state got the largest FDI investments in India. Coming to exim, the state has an imbalance with imports dominating exports, as a result the state has become a huge repository of empties. Taking a broader view of South Indian logistics Krishna Kumar said congestion is a thing of past as the total capacity of all terminals in this region is about 7.8 million teus and the handling of empties alone amounts to about 3.5 million teus. Utilisation rate of these terminals is about 50 per cent, so congestion is ruled out. Taking a view of the wonderful connectivity offered by ports in this region he said, Krishnapatnam Port offers connectivity to China, Chittagong and Colombo. Chennai Port connects to Europe and Far East. Any urgent cargo can be routed through Tuticorin Port that connects to Colombo within few hours. Predicting about the future scenario he said, the future will be of crewless ships and trucks moving cargo and the last-mile delivery will be done by drones.
Coming to the warehousing part, presenting a brief overview of CWC, Shivanand Rai, General Manager, Central Warehousing Corporation said, “CWC is operational since 1957 and has about 432 warehouses and 35 CFS all over India. We have capacity ranging from 7000 metric tonnes to 10 million metric tonnes all over India.” In Karnataka the organisation has 5 lakhs metric tonnes capacity, but still there is growing demand for warehousing in this state and the demand is mainly coming from e-commerce. To meet this rising demand CWC is expanding and has got 14.2 acres of land near Bangalore International airport, where another CFS will be set up including airfreight cargo station. CWC is also into pest control services and fumigation offered for container ships. Karnataka State Transport Corporation mostly uses CWC services.
“Navayuga Container Terminal is the first in India to install drive through container scanner that can do 60 scans in an hour. Even though the scanner was originally installed for importers of scrap, it will help importers of a lot of other commodities such as furniture, machinery and automotive parts,” informed Vinita Venkatesh, Director, Navayuga Container Terminal Pvt Ltd Talking about the connectivity to serve the Bangalore trade she said, a direct road to the port is on its west side, then a four lane road is being constructed towards the north of the port and towards the south of the port two new roads are being developed connecting it to the national highway. With this road network, the distance between Krishnapatnam, Bangalore and Chennai will reduce by 40 km and Krishnapatnam will be the closest port facility to Bangalore.
Congestion is a thing of past as the total capacity of all terminals in South India region is about 7.8 million teus and the handling of empties alone amounts to about 3.5 million teus. Utilisation rate of these terminals is about 50 per cent, so congestion is ruled out.
NH-16 connects from Chennai to Krishnapatnam and under the Sagarmala project there is a five road system approved to ensure cargo moving in and out of Krishnapatnam Port will not be delayed for a minute. The port has also increased its quay length by about 100 meters and has added extra cranes to accommodate the transhipment traffic. By Q2 2019, the port will have 1km quay length and 8 QCs such that any number of vessels arriving to Krishnapatnam Port will compulsorily get berthing on arrival and the container yard will have capacity of 1.2 million teu which will be expanded to 2 million teu as demand arises.
Coming to Bangalore cargo, the Port had started with just one train connecting to the city about 3 years back and now the frequency has increased to 3 trains with support from Maersk Line and very soon HMM will also start handling their cargo over Krishnapatnam Port. Detailing on the operations of ICD Bangalore, Dr Anup Dayanand Sadhu, Group General Manager, Concor said, Concor had commenced operations in 1989 and starting with 7 ICDs it has grown to 74 ICDs, in addition to 10 more ICDs operational in collaboration with private partners. Concor leads in rail based container movement in the country with 79 operational terminals and has a share of 75 per cent. Detailing on the operational performance of Concor Sadhu said, the organisation has operating turnover of `6,167 crore, which is 10 per cent more than previous year and gross turnover is `6,470 crore, which is 9.75 per cent increase over the previous year. Net profit is `1,049 crores, which is 22.26 per cent more than the previous year. Concor has a capital expenditure of `857 crores and in the next 5 years it will spend about `6,000 crores in infrastructure capex building.
In the southern region Concor has 9 terminals and ICD Whitefield is the biggest. The ICD grew by 9 per cent last year and this year the growth is expected to be 15 per cent. It operates 2.5 trains daily to HOM Chennai, 2 trains per week connect to Krishnapatnam Port and in the coming months the frequency can be increased to 4 trains, considering the growing liner connectivity to the port. For domestic cargo movement ICD Whitefield operates frequent trains to TKD, Kolkata, Shalimar and Guwahati terminals. The ICD operates 9 dedicated rakes for domestic and exim traffic. Recently the ICD has started offering 45 days free time for international loaded containers and 90 days free time for empty containers. Towards the conclusion Anup announced plans to commence coastal shipping, 5PL logistics, increase rail connectivity to more ports and double the turnover from `6400 crores to `12000 crores in 2 to 3 years’ time.
