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India has firmed up the contours of its ambitious multi-modal programme to reduce logistics costs and make the economy competitive.
The strategy involves a reset of India’s logistics sector from a “point-to-point” model to a “hub-and-spoke” model and involves railways, highways, inland waterways and airports to put in place an effective transportation grid.
This includes setting up 35 multi-modal logistics parks at an investment of Rs50,000 crore, development of 50 economic corridors and an investment template which involves roping in the states and the private sector for setting up special vehicles for implementation.
Sites for the proposed 35 logistics parks have been identified and they will be set up on railways, highways, inland waterways and airports transportation grid. Fifteen such logistics parks will be constructed in the next five years, and 20 more over the next 10 years. They will act as hubs for freight movement enabling freight aggregation and distribution with modern mechanized warehousing space.
It will work like this: a joint venture will be set up between National Highways Authority of India (49% share) and the partner (51%) for the project which may be a state government or a private entity. Of the land acquired for the project, 40% will be developed and returned to the land owner. While 20% of the land will be sold to finance the project, the profit from the rest 40% of the land will go to National Highway Authority of India. The road transport and highways ministry has also sought an infrastructure status for these logistics parks.
“We will build pre-cooling plants, cold storages, storage facilities for agricultural produce, food grains, hardware, cement, steel, fertilizer and will create a transport nagar (city) and logistic park. It will have fuel pumps and also truck maintenance shops. All of this will be at one place outside the city.”
A pre-feasibility study will be conducted in Chennai and Vijayawada shortly.
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