Getting set for the mega container traffic growth

Mr. S.S. Hussain, Chairman, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) flagged off the 3rd Southern Asia Ports, Logistics and Shipping 2008 India conference and exhibition at Hotel Leela Kempinski on September 23 and 24, 2008. It brought together a much larger number of participants and exhibitors than the earlier events. Organised by Transport Events the occasion served as a purposeful forum to present the up-to-date global container transportation scenario and its impact on shipping and trade.

In his keynote address Mr. Hussain contended that the port sector has been identified as the prime catalyst to accelerate the process of industrialization, international trade and economic progress. Port development and economic development are mutually related. On the one hand economic development necessitates port development as a part of infrastructure development and on the other, port development itself facilitates import-export and attracts industries to its hinterland, which, in turn, create forward and backward linkages with the rest of the economy.

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Over Dimensional Cargo forced to take the tortuous route

With the economic boom lot of mega projects are being set up and many others in the pipeline. These projects depend on massive imports including turbines, huge plate mill and presses, naphtha cracker units, reactors, crusher plants, etc. All these being heavy lift cargo of over-dimensional sizes have to be transported by road to the project site in the hinterland after being unloaded at the port concerned. With the economic boom lot of mega projects are being set up and many others in the pipeline. These projects depend on massive imports including turbines, huge plate mill and presses, naphtha cracker units, reactors, crusher plants, etc. All these being heavy lift cargo of over-dimensional sizes have to be transported by road to the project site in the hinterland after being unloaded at the port concerned. Considering the prevailing infrastructure in India and there being no common regulatory authority nor any specific laws guiding the movement of heavy lift cargo. It calls for a lot of expertise, presence of mind, and innovativeness on the part of the operator to overcome the myriad hurdles that are faced until they reach the destination.

Unfortunately the road is littered with corrupt practices, procedural delays, obstacles poor road condition and lack of infrastructure, the past few years have seen several operators entering the field to grab a share of the growing pie. As the pie keeps growing more players are entering the fray.

Traditionally called over dimensional cargo (ODC), it has taken on a wider focus and is also commonly known as project cargo. According to Mr. Nilesh Gandhi, Director, Express Transport Pvt. Ltd., handling project cargo is a professional task requiring technical expertise, an experienced team, and the right people on the job, infrastructure, and hands-on management.

Mr Pawan Agarwal, Director of India based MFC Transport Pvt. Ltd. says "There is not much competition in this field. This is because most of the time operators find that it is not practical or feasible to handle such heavy cargo.

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ProLogis rnakes entry through JV with K Raheja

The logistics sector is set to get a major boost with ProLogis the world's largest logistic and warehousing developer having made an entry into India through a 50:50 joint venture with leading real estate developer, K Rajeha Corp, for the development of warehousing and logistic Infrastructure in the country. The JV intends to invest around Rs 2300 crore over the next 3 years for acquisition of land, development of properties and management of assets.

The venture will initially focus on securing development opportunities in the cities Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, and Pune which are among the fastest growing locations for distribution operations in India. It is expected to develop 7.5 million sq. ft. in the next 3 years and a total of 25 million sq. ft. with the next 5 years.

The logistics sector is set to get a major boost with ProLogis - the work's largest logistic and warehousing developer having made an entry into India through a 50:50 joint venture with leading real estate developer, K Raheja Corp, for the development of warehousing and logistic Infrastructure in the country.

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Indian port and shipping must gear itself to take on huge growth potential

Speaking at the National Conference on Development of Ports anel Shipping "Transforming Indian Ports into World Class Facilities", Mr. M.M. Saggi, Nautical Advisor to Govt. of India, said, "If Indian Port and Shipping has to become world class, greater private sector partnership in the infrastructure development of ports and shipping is vital. Indian Port and Shipping must gear itself to take on the huge growth potential". He regretted that the shipping and port sector had not attracted even a single Foreign Direct Investment despite the tremendous growth potential of the sector. He expected the capacity of Indian Ports to triple to around 2 billion tonnes in the next five years from the current 6 million tonnes.

Mr. Ramu S. Deora, Chairman, All India Shippers Council, ASCOBIPS, and FICCI Trade Facilitation Forum, was unhappy that despite a high utilization of capacity the country's port and shipping sector continues to face congestion and backlog of cargo impairing smooth handling of international cargo. While the need to boost exports demands high quality of services at competitive costs, the weakening of the global freight markets and the inadequate flow of investments continue to impair the growth of shipping and ports, he added. According to him the logistics costs in India accounted for I 3% of GDP compared to 1 1% in Japan; 10% in Europe and 9% in the US on account of poor logistics infrastructure at ports in the country.

Emphasizing the need to improve trade facilitation and value added services in order to transform Indian Ports into world class facilities, Mr. Rajesh Sampson, Associate Director, Ernst & Young, said "Systems such as PortNet and Trade Net of Singapore as well as developments of distriparksakin to Keppel will go a long way in improving services levels in Indian Ports".

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