March 16, 2017 TnH Global

Aviation to become part of multi-modal logistics hubs says Nitin Gadkari

Aviation sector will now be a part of multi-modal logistics hubs in India to promote holistic logistics solutions, union minister Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday. At present highways, ports, inland waterways and railways are part of the planned multi-modal logistics hubs in India. The new plan projects the logistics sector to grow to $ 360 billion by 2032 from the present $ 115 billion.

“Integrated approach for logistics is the priority of the government. Airports will be part of multi-modal logistics hubs. Our government is setting up 400 regional airports and they will have pre-cooling cold storages among other logistics solutions,” Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister Gadkari said here.

The minister said there is a huge domestic freight movement in India which needs to be addressed. Development of integrated logistics solutions will be part of the Prime Minister’s Flagship ‘Make in India’ programme, he said at a curtain-raiser event on India’s first Integrated Transport and Logistic Summit on May 3-5, 2017.

“Government will bring aviation sector this time into multi-modal hubs as it has huge potential in the logistics sector also,” he said adding that the summit is expected to attract investments to the tune of Rs 50,000 crore.

The minister said that to transform India’s logistics from a point-to-point model to hub-and-spoke model is aimed at reducing logistics cost.

“A specific programme for development of multi-modal logistics parks, together with multi-modal transport facilities, will be drawn up and implemented. The vision is to transform India’s logistics from a point-to-point model to a hub-and-spoke model to achieve reduction in logistics costs and to ensure that multi-modal infrastructure comes up in the country in an integrated manner,” he said.

India is a growing economy and the high cost of logistics — currently at 14 per cent of GDP — is having a negative effect, he said adding, an effective multi-modal logistics and transport sector will make India’s economy more competitive.

Efficient transportation solutions are critical to improve the effectiveness of already built infrastructure, with the overarching aim to improve logistics efficiency of the country – cost and time reduction and ensure trackability and traceability of freight movement. He said multiple initiatives to improve logistics efficiency are already underway including building of economic corridors apart from multi-modal Logistics parks. The minister said that the government is committed to connect centres of high economic activity into corridors.

“Forty four economic corridors along with numerous feeder routes and inter corridor routes requiring consistent four lane infrastructure covering 55,000 km has been identified,” he said. Along with Golden Quadrilateral and North-South-East-West Corridors, these are expected to carry about 80 per cent of India’s total freight. The work on building these corridors has already started.

Talking about multi-modal logistics parks, the minister said that they will act as hubs for freight movement enabling freight aggregation and distribution, provide multi-modal freight transportation with modern mechanised warehousing space and value-added services.

Fifteen logistics parks are planned over the next five years while 20 more are to be developed in the next 10 years. He said that various state governments have come forward to lead this initiative and the Transport Ministry is going to start pre-feasibility study in two cities -– Chennai and Vijayawada. Another initiative — RFID-based Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) — will enhance the efficacy of collection as 3.5 lakh vehicles have already been fitted with ETC tags.

The minister said there is a huge domestic freight movement in India which needs to be addressed. Gadkari said that the ministry is ready with a draft policy for development of logistics parks.

“The land from logistics parks can come from states, and we will form a SPV with the state government. In case the land comes from private developer, we will form firm guidelines for land usage and implementation,” he said.

The summit in May will have representation from both Indian and global logistics companies, end-user industries, industry bodies and academia. The summit will see participation from over 120 exhibitors, top global and Indian speakers and over 1,000 delegates. All transportation ministries – road, rail, waterways, shipping, aviation – will come together to create a confluence of ideas.

News Source: PTI