Under the second phase of central scheme Bharatmala Pariyojana, the government has identified 11 locations across the country to set up multi-modal logistics parks (MMLPs), taking the total number of such facilities in the country to 53.
Under Bharatmala Phase-I, the government has already planned 35 MMLPs of which the first ones will come up in Nagpur (Maharashtra), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), and Bengaluru (Karnataka). The first two in Nagpur and Chennai will be ready by 2024-end, senior officials in the transport ministry said, requesting anonymity.
The programme focuses on optimising efficiency of freight and passenger movement across the country by bridging critical infrastructure gaps through effective interventions such as economic corridors and multi-modal integration through roadways, logistic parks, ports, and ropeways among others.
Under the second phase, locations for setting up the MMLPs are Udaipur (Tripura), Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu), Jodhpur (Rajasthan), Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh), Siliguri (West Bengal), Ranchi (Jharkhand), Haridwar (Uttarakhand), Bikaner (Rajasthan), Dighi (Maharashtra), Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh), and Bidkin (Maharashtra).
Prior to this, India has never had an integrated plan to develop logistic parks. Through the 35 MMLPs planned in the first phase, the government aims to reduce logistic costs from the current 14-16% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) to about 9%. It also hopes to create two lakh jobs with this as mega logistic parks are likely to trigger creation of manufacturing or assembling clusters around these facilities, while massively cutting freight transportation costs and time.
A senior official in the know of matter, who didn’t wish to be named said the MMLPs will be built under public-private partnership (PPP model). The government will provide the land and water, electricity, road and railways connectivity to each such park, said the official.
One MMLP will be run by one private operator, who will be concessioned for 45 years during which the entire park will have to be operated and maintained. “In two years, the concessionaire will have to complete phase-1 of the project, which is if he is investing ₹900 crore, then minimum ₹300 crore (30%) will have to be invested in the first two years for the development of the park,” the official said.
Since logistic parks in every state will involve multiple stakeholders, for every MMLP, the government has decided, there will be a special purpose vehicle (SPV) having members from the private operators, the concerned state port authority, roadways, railways, electricity, power utilities and so on. If a state has more than one MMLP, then the SPV can be the same.
Giving an update on the first phase of the programme, a senior official from the ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) requesting anonymity said tenders have been floated for three of the 35 projects.