A tripartite agreement for the swift development of modern Multi Modal Logistics Parks (MMLP) under the Bharatmala project across India has been signed with an objective to centralise freight consolidation and reduce logistics cost from 14 percent to less than 10 percent of GDP at par with international standards. The tripartite agreement was signed by National Highways Logistics Management Limited (NHLML), Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL).
MMLP will be a freight handling facility with rail and road accessibility, comprising container terminals, cargo terminals (bulk, break-bulk), warehouses, cold storage, facilities for mechanised material handling, and value-added services such as customs clearance with bonded storage yards, quarantine zones, testing facilities, and warehousing management services etc. along with other associated facilities, according to a press release by India’s ministry of ports, shipping, and waterways. Developed under a ‘Hub & Spoke’ model, the MMLP will integrate multiple modes of freight transport through highways, railways, and inland waterways. The agreement underlines the cooperation and collaboration model between the three bodies in order to achieve efficiency in logistics movement within the country.
The MMLP project is poised to develop a state-of-the-art large scale warehousing facility for different types of commodities and become a one-stop solution for all services related to cargo movement like warehousing, custom clearance, parking, maintenance of trucks, etc. The MMLPs will focus on a technology-driven implementation for a state-of-the-art freight management system. Many value-added services like packaging, repackaging, and labelling will be available in these projects.
The NHLML is a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of the National Highway Authority (NHAI) of the ministry of road transport and highways, while the IWAI is a statutory authority under the Ministry of ports, shipping, and waterways. The RVNL is a wholly owned public sector enterprise under the Ministry of railways. The signatories of the agreement were Prakash Gaur, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), NHLML; Ravi Kant, Chief Engineer and Project Manager for IWAI; and Vikas Awasthi, Executive Director (planning), RVNL, added the report.
Union Minister of road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari; Union Minister of ports, shipping, and waterways, and Ayush Sarbananda Sonowal; and Union Minister of State for road transport and highways, General (Retd) VK Singh witnessed the signing of the agreement.
