JM Baxi Group opens India’s first ICD-based cold store in Haryana

JM Baxi Group, the privately-owned logistics company, has opened India’s first port-based cold storage at its Sonepat inland container depot (a dry port) in Haryana – this will help cut double-handling and save cost for importers and exporters of perishable goods.

The firm, which runs port terminals and container trains, aims to set up 7-8 such cold stores in India, said Dhruv Kotak, Joint Managing Director at J M Baxi Group.

The Mumbai-based group will set up and run the cold stores through its wholly-owned cold chain logistics unit, Boxcold Logistics Pvt Ltd.

The cold stores will be managed by Bangalore-based Coldman Logistics, a new entrant into the cold chain business, led by Ravi Kannan, the former CEO of Mumbai-listed Snowman Logistics.

At present, reefer containers landing at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and perishables exported through India’s biggest container gateway are re-distributed or sourced from all over the country irrespective of the commodity.

Imported reefer containers are re-distributed to the north from Nhava Sheva, which results in double-handling.

“Boxco’s temperature-controlled warehouse at Sonepat enables exporters and importers in the north to bring their reefer containers directly to the cold store. It brings the cold stores directly to where the EXIM cargo either originates or ends. It has never existed before. It saves double-handling because it is moved directly by rail to the cold stores, leading to huge cost savings,” said Kotak.

Boxcold Logistics will invest $10 million to set up each cold store.

“Coldman is my technical partner. It’s my cold store, my train, my reefers, and they will run the store for us to conform to quality standards of global MNCs,” added Kotak. The Sonepat cold store is strategically located close to Asia’s largest wholesale fruits and vegetables markets (Azadpur mandi, Delhi), Mega Food Park (Panipat), Delhi NCR region, the upcoming Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) and Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway. The facility will have storage capacity of 8,300 tonnes, with multiple temperature zones and fully mechanised handling equipment.

“The indirect costs in the cold chain business are high due to inadequate infrastructure,” says a logistics industry executive.

Poor connectivity between the production and consumption centres, lack of good road infrastructure and varied tax structures across the country has so far prevented large-scale investments in building a nationwide cold-chain storage infrastructure.