Concor to set up eight new depots

Will spend Rs 320 cr by fiscal 2009-end

MUMBAI: Container Corporation of India (Concor) is all set to add eight new rail-linked inland container depots (ICDs) with an investment of Rs 320 crore by the end of the next fiscal.
 
This will bring Concor’s number of depots to 65 from the current 57.

The new depots were announced at Railway Budget 2008, which also mentioned adding another 40 from private operators in the coming years.

Concor is setting up purely domestic ICDs in Rourkela and Durgapur and is adding one purely export-import ICD in Kuder in Gujarat that already has a domestic one. The other five ICDs at Madhosingh in Uttar Pradesh, Ratlam and Baddi in Madhya Pradesh and Khemli in Rajasthan would cater to both domestic as well as EXIM container traffic.

P Alli Rani, executive director finance and chief PRO, Concor, said: “These ICDs would be set up with an investment of Rs 30-40 crore each, depending on the size and will be operational by end of fiscal 2009.”

At present, 60 container depots are operational in the country, including three constructed by private parties. Of the 57 ICDs that Concor operates, 9 are dedicated for domestic container services, 18 for the Exim traffic and the rest 30 are for both. “This expansion is part of our capacity addition to grow at a rate of 20% year-on-year,” Rani said.

With the increase in containerisation, developing more capacity in terms of ICDs that facilitate loading and unloading of goods is of prime importance. Private operators are building in their capacities. Gateway Distripark, which already operates an ICD in Gurgaon, plans to construct two ICDs in Faridabad and Ludhiana by the end of FY09. Allcargo Global Logistics has already announced plans to set up eight ICDs across the country.

The Railway Budget, which expected that container trains, container depot and multi-modal logistics park will attract investment to the tune of Rs. 2,000 crore, also expects around 40 such ICDs to come up in the next few years.

However, a senior government official, who did not wished to be named, said, “The number of private ICDs is not confirmed.”

What caught the sight of private operators was the policy announcement to allow private operators to build and operate rail terminals. Although the policy has not been very clear but analysts feel this might be a model where railways will lease out the land to private companies to build and operate rail terminals.

“This will encourage more private participation and we need waiting to get more information on this,” said R Kumar, deputy chief executive officer, Gateway Distripark. The new policy — when fully announced - could help private rail operators who are currently put off by the difficulty in acquiring land to set up a terminal.

Ajay Mittal, chairman and managing director, Arshiya International Ltd, said: “An important factor, which was a catalyst in initiating the policy was the need for encouraging more ICD’s in the hinterland.” Arshiya has recently secured in principle approval for running pan India railway freight trains.

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