Land prices have gone up exorbitantly which could potentially derail public-private-partnership projects in the development of infrastructure, in general, and logistics parks in particular, says Mr S. Velumani, Chairman and Managing Director, Ennore Port Ltd.
Speaking at a meeting organised by the CII Institute of Logistics, Mr Velumani called upon the government to provide land to the private sector at reasonable prices for developing logistics parks.
‘Logistics parks' at strategic locations will save $13-16 billion in supply chain costs for India. The imperative is to develop logistics parks at locations across the country with global standards.
Good news is, this is happening. By 2012, some 110 logistics parks spread over 3,500 acres are expected to come up across India, at an investment of $1 billion, according to a research paper on Building World Class Logistics Parks in India published by the CII Institute of Logistics and Amarthi Consulting.
The logistics costs in India are high at 13-14 per cent of the country's GDP compared with 8-9 per cent for developed countries. The logistics park is not just a modern warehouse but a hub of value added supply chain and manufacturing activities. At present, most of the parks have modern warehousing facilities but do not have the value added service capabilities that are available globally, the report said.
Mr Velumani said in the last four years the Ennore Port has attracted private investment of nearly Rs 2,500 crore. Out of the four projects, three are in operations and the fourth one is being contemplated, he said. Mr Velumani also released a book on Building World Class Logistics Parks in India brought out by CII Institute of Logistics and Amarthi Consulting.
Mr Arif A. Siddiqui, Director, Coign Consulting, in his remarks said while the country has improved its infrastructure connecting various cities, the ‘last mile connectivity' of taking the products from warehouses located outside the city to shops in the city takes longer time. This last mile infrastructure should be super efficient as it handles large volume, he said.