Date:21/03/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/03/21/stories/2005032100540600.htm
Back Hallmarks of good logistics hubs

S. L. Ganapathi

Movement of heavy vehicles with heavy loads within the city throws up a host of problems such as pollution, traffic snarls and damage to the roads. The proposed logistics hub can tackle this problem.

THE proposal to launch a logistics hub on the national highway connecting Kolkata and Mumbai (Business Line, February 21) is good, provided it does not become yet another parking lot for trucks, like the one at the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border or the Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar in Delhi that comprises cubbyholes of brokers' offices, mechanics' shops, tea-stalls and AIDS combat clinics.

The proposed Kolkata Logistics Hub can be a logistics centre if such facilities are created at the hub.

  • The parking lot of vehicles must be well-regulated and its construction, operation and maintenance be given over to a private firm on contractual basis. The parking lot should be paved so that there is no slush during monsoon.

  • There should be well-marked bays for various types of vehicles.

  • The hub should have a few company-recognised workshops for repair of vehicles, a super-mart for spares, including sales and service of tyres and batteries, as well as outlets of spares of reputed vehicle manufacturers.

  • The hub should also have a food court, not necessarily expensive, but clean and well-regulated.

    The purpose of setting up a logistics hub on the outskirts of Kolkata is certainly to curb movement of heavy vehicles with heavy loads within the city.

    Such movement throws up a host of problems such as pollution, traffic snarls, damage to the roads — the list goes on.

    At present, the movement of goods vehicles is regulated by day but not so at night. This is unwelcome because the detention (during the day-time) adds to the cost. Additional halting entails higher freight, which is ultimately passed on to the consumer.

    The proposed logistics hub can tackle this problem.

    First, the Clearing & Forwarding Agent (C&FA) warehouses, now located at Taratolla, Transport Depot Road, Budge Budge and Cossipore areas of the city, should be relocated to the proposed logistics hub, thus preventing the inward movement of heavy vehicles into the city.

    Moreover, such relocation will be successful provided a warehousing space of at least one million sq metres, complete with the state-of-the-art facilities (such as racked storage system, mechanical handling system, loading and unloading bays with dock-levellers, IT connectivity, etc.) are created within the proposed hub.

    The space should be developed on build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis by large construction companies or logistics service providers who in turn will make the space available to the prospective users in smaller blocks, may be of 100,000 sq metre or less each. These warehousing companies will form the backbone of the hub as they will retail nominated spaces to the C&FA firms likely to be displaced from the city.

    Finally, the small goods carriers and light commercial vehicles (LCVs) can ferry between the hub and the retail outlets located within the city. Another reason why big trucks move into the city is to cater to the requirements of the Kolkata Dock System (i.e., loading and unloading of imports and exports respectively).

    This can be handled in two ways. One, by introducing RoRo trains (trailer on flat cars) for operation on a closed-circuit basis between the port and the hub, and the trucks for movement to and from the port can use this service.

    This will improve the average turnaround time as there will be no detention now being experienced due to entry restrictions.

    Alternatively, large RoRo ferries could be pressed into service for the same purpose. The proposed logistics hub must have a container freight station to be linked to Kolkata/Haldia port, a bonded warehouse and refrigerated cargo warehouse.

    Once again, an element of competition can be introduced by having a multiple licensing/contracting arrangement.

    For example, at Dadri inland container depot near Noida, there are three different CFS joint ventures which the Container Corporation of India has forged with three shipping lines — Maersk, P&O and Transworld Group.

    All these will help the proposed hub emerge as an integrated logistics service providing centre which is the crying need of the day.

    (The author is managing director of Logistics Plus India Pvt Ltd, New Delhi)

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