Logistics sector believes a post-Covid recovery : Prem Kishan Gupta
MUMBAI : The Gati Shakti National Masterplan, which was recently approved by the cabinet, will help logistics facilitators like Gateway Distriparks Limited, which is into Container Freight Stations (CFS), Inland Container Depots (ICD), Cold Chain Storage and Logistics, to seek faster clearances to get projects ready in a record time and improve overall ease of doing business in the country, the company’s Chairman and Managing Director Prem Kishan Gupta told on Friday.
“Earlier to set up an ICD, we had to seek permissions from a lot of agencies. Now, this has been put under a single window,” Gupta said.
He added that the time taken to set up an ICD will also be reduced from about four years, on an average, after completion of land acquisition, to less than two years following the approval of the Gati Shakti Masterplan.
Inland Container Depots (ICDs) are dry ports equipped for handling and temporary storage of containerized cargo. These are typically located in hinterlands.
Gateway Distriparks recently reported a consolidated PAT (profit after tax) of ₹46.90 crore during the quarter ending on 30 September 2021, up 1255.5% from the previous year.
“A recovery has by and large happened as compared to last year when we couldn’t make up for the cost,” Gupta said, adding that the company’s focus going ahead will be on its rail business.
The company’s rail business, Gateway Rail Freight Limited, reported a PAT of ₹50.67 crore during quarter ending on 30 September 2021, up from ₹17.24 crore during the previous year.
“We are hoping for volume to increase as we see a shift from road to rail (for freight) due to high fuel cost and faster delivery time. The dedicated freight corridor, though not fully functional, has helped reduce the turnaround time for us to about 27 hours from 72 hours earlier,” Gupta said.
Gateway Distriparks hopes to invest about ₹250 crore to ₹300 crore to set up ICDs in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan during the next fiscal.
“We are close to finding land parcels (for ICDs). Once that is done, construction can be done quickly,” he added.
Meanwhile, the company’s subsidiary Snowman Logistics Limited, which is into cold storage, has tied up with Dr Reddy’s for transportation of Sputnik vaccines across the country. The company also stores and transports other covid-19 vaccines like covishield and covaxin, from its hubs across the country.
“Since May, we have transported and stored 6% of the total volume of vaccines,” Gupta said.
Snowman Logistics currently has about 35 warehouses across 17 locations in the country. One of its major clients in Amazon, while the company is in talks with pharma companies for dedicated pharma cold storage.
“Snowman recently opened a warehouse in Siliguri and plans to open another in Coimbatore next month. Next year we plan to increase our presence to three more cities including Kolkata and Kanpur,” Gupta added.
