CHENNAI: The Container Corporation of India Ltd. (CONCOR), a Navratna Public Sector Unit under the Ministry of Railways, will invest Rs 1,000 crore for in the current financial developing dry ports and other infrastructure, said its Chairman and Managing Director V Kalyana Rama here on Monday.
“Of the total Rs 1,000 crore, 30 to 40 per cent will be spent for developing infrastructure for dry ports such land and buildings and around 60 to 70 per cent for buying wagons and materials. In four years we are planning to buy 270 rakes,” Rama said while speaking to reporters.
The state-owned logistics company has around 343 rakes and each rake has a life of 35 years.
To a query whether there is any demand for such an investment, Rama said the CONCOR was exploring the opportunities to expand business through bulk transportation of cement and food grains.
“Lot of waste is being handled in cement transportation. Of the 330 tons manufactured in India, only 30 tons are being transported through bulk cargo and 60 per cent gets transported in bags. The bulk cement transportation in India is eight per cent and there is an opportunity to increase it up to 50 per cent. The flexi bags and tank containers would reduce a lot of waste. We are working on it,” he added.
He also revealed the plans to expand the terminal connectivity across the country. Presently, the CONCOR has 83 terminals (dry ports) across India and is planning to increase it soon to 100 in a few years. “About 8 to 10 terminals would be added in the current financial year,” added Rama.
Explaining the expansion plans further, he said that on March 30, the logistics player inaugurated the first distribution logistics centre at Ennore near here. “We identified places to set up 19 more distribution logistics centre across India on PPP mode in five years and they will be connected to 100 terminals. So there will be around 120 centres which would serve the entire country.
On the measures taken to improve transportation, the CONCOR has decided not to increase the tariff till the end of the financial year. In addition, free storage will be allowed for loaded containers for 55 days and it will be 90 days for empty containers.
“Whether input cost increases or not, we will not increase the tariff and there will be no precondition attached to this offer. We are targeting 10 to 12 per cent of growth in volume,” Rama said, adding that soon the company would launch a mobile app through which customers can track the consignment 24/7.
The CONCOR, which launched coastal shipping service from Kandla port to Thoothukudi in January, will soon be extended to East Coast regions and it may get connected to Bangladesh.