While RZD Logistics recently moved its first consignment of containerised cargo through rail from Russia to India, CONCOR’s focus on using domestically manufactured containers may limit its participation in the near term.
V. Kalyana Rama, CMD, CONCOR clarified that the company is ‘rationing’ its containers and is currently more focused on addressing the domestic market requirement.
“We are rationing the containers because we have our own equipment problem,” he said commenting on the possibility of moving cargo to Iran and Russia. Domestic market is more favourable right now and the company will focus on it, he said.
“There are certain geopolitical issues like we can’t now procure containers from China so we are developing the container industry in India…all these actions will take some time…,” he said.
The company which used to procure almost all its container requirements from China has placed domestic orders on Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd, Braithwaite & Co Ltd and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd. Annual container requirement of the company is about 8,000 containers and as at December end it had a fleet of 37,000 containers.
“Once we get that (containers) we will definitely get into these segments..Iran and Central Asian countries and also point-to-point destinations, wherever the opportunity comes, we will be doing this,” he added.
INSTC, CHABAHAR
Over the last few years India has committed itself to the development of Chabahar Port in Iran to enhance its connectivity options to Central Asian countries. India is currently engaged in the Phase I development of Shahid Beheshti Port in Chabahar.
“International North-South Transport Corridor is an important regional connectivity project…and we are strongly committed to the vision of activating this corridor at the earliest. India has already proposed the inclusion of Chabahar Port in the INSTC route,” said J.P. Singh, Joint Secretary, (Pakistan, Afghanistan & Iran Division), Ministry of External Affairs at the ‘Chabahar Day’ event organized by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways last month.
INSTC is linked with Bandar Abbas Port, which is located west of Chabahar Port in Iran and currently most of India’s trade with Central Asian countries is done through Bandar Abbas Port.
In July, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan Jamshid Khodjaev held a meeting with India’s Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal wherein both discussed undertaking container cargo movement from Tashkent to Mumbai’s Jawaharlal Nehru Port via Chabahar Port.
As the demand for containerized cargo transport between India and Central Asian countries, Iran and Russia increases in the coming years, India’s self-sufficiency in container manufacturing will be a key factor as it sans import from China, the biggest container manufacturer in the world.
A working group under India’s Directorate General of Shipping is currently framing broad guidelines for scaling up container manufacturing in the country.
For CONCOR, the ability to utilise its containers for export to Iran, Iraq and further on to the INSTC corridor is also likely to be profitable. “There is a lot of opportunity in this. Even today there is demand from the trade asking for containers for export of rice into Iran and Central Asian countries…,” said Rama, adding that the company has been able to get good margins on such destinations in the past.
