The Hindu Business Line : Concor forays into bonded trucking service

CONTAINER Corporation of India (Concor) which is offering custodial service for container freight operations to and off Coimbatore is foraying into bonded trucking, a new product in its logistics kitty cut out for trans-shipment of export/import of air cargo.

It has proposed to launch bonded trucking service, most probably next month when it is expected to formally throw open its new container terminal complex at the peripheral Irugur for commercial operation.

Concor has applied for necessary permission from the Customs department and once the Customs authorities clear the proposal, the logistics company would be formally executing the bond with the department to undertake the Customs sealed air cargo operation between its inland container depot in Coimbatore and the choice gateway airports, according to cargo transport industry sources.

Its entry into bonded trucking of air cargo, according to reliable sources, has gained momentum coinciding with its planned relocation of its existing inland container terminal functioning at the Coimbatore railway junction premises to the 42-acre new container complex it is building at Irugur near here.

The work on the Irugur complex at a cost of Rs 2 crore is scheduled to be completed by next month. The facilities would include 2000 sq. m. warehousing space, administrative block for container terminal, container yard/parking and approach roads etc.

Informed sources said that pending the formal launch of the bonded trucking service, Concor is likely to float tenders shortly to fix road transporters for hauling the bonded air cargo.

It is also likely to have tie-ups with some of the airlines which will undertake booking of air cargo from gateway airports to their respective cargo hubs.

Concor, it is said, is timing its bonded trucking operation in Coimbatore to coincide with the dismantling of quota-based textile exports from 2005, as the quota-free trade is expected to trigger a higher volume of exports from the major textile exporting centres of Tirupur, Karur and Erode from Coimbatore region.

Concor is also said to be working on a joint partnership arrangement with the Airports Authority of India at the highest level in order to promote air cargo traffic, especially in inter-land airports where viability of operating direct airfreight is yet to be fully assessed or tested.

Currently, it has mapped out at least 12 inter-land regions where it would be in a position to network/run its `hub-and-spoke' cargo transporting.

Coimbatore, Amritsar and Goa are identified as viable centres where it can work with the AAI to tap that extra cargo business volume. Coimbatore comes on top of Concor's priority right now.