Madhya Pradesh: Indore to Get State’s First Multi-Modal Logistics Park; Phase 1 By 2025

Mar 3, 2023 India Shipping News

BHOPAL : The commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh, Indore, will soon have its own Multi-Modal Logistics Park (MMLP) as the work for the project has been awarded, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highway (MoRTH) announced on Tuesday night.

The MMLP project has been awarded to GR Infraprojects Limited, and will be developed in three phases for which target completion of Phase-I is two years, that is, by 2025, leading to commercial operations.

Indore has a rich ecosystem, fertile soil and high-quality workforce. The MMLP at Indore will be developed in an area of 255.17 acres near Pithampur in Dhar district.

“The site is strategically located near Pithampur industrial area, apparel and pharma cluster and abutting the Indore Tihi- Dahod rail line as well as proposed Mhow ring road, at 30 km from Indore Airport and Indore city. The estimated total project cost is Rs 1,110.58 crore,” the Ministry said in a statement.

The project is proposed to be developed in PPP (DBFOT) mode wherein the developer will be appointed with a concession period of 45 years for developing and operating the MMLP with an estimated cost of Rs 758.10 crore.

A government SPV is being formed amongst National Highways Logistics Management Limited (NHI-ML), Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) and Madhya Pradesh Industrial Development Corporation (MPIDC).

“The SPV will provide land for the MMLP, external rail, road connectivity as well as water and power supply, etc. The MMLP is being provided with four-lane access from Mhow-Neemach four¬-lane state highway and rail siding of length -6.5 km from Sagore Railway station,” the ministry added.

The MMLP will cater to 12.79 million metric tonne (MMT) cargo in the horizon period of 45 years and will give a huge boost to the industrial zones in the catchment region of Ujjain, Dewas, Dhar, Pithampur, Khandwa and Barwani.

It will also create a lot of employment opportunities and bring in economic development in the region.

As an outcome of Logistics Efficiency Enhancement Programme study (LEEP), MoRTH, in partnership with other line ministries and state governments, is developing Multi Modal Logistics Parks at 35 strategic locations across the country under the Bharatmala Pariyojana.

MMLP is a key solution for lowering the logistics cost as percentage of GDP at par with developed countries, the ministry said.

These parks are an integrated facility within which all activities relating to logistics and the distribution of goods, both for national and international transit can be carried out across multiple modes of transport.

Reported earlier that, while the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) mandated the MoRTH to develop 35 MMLPs across the country in October, 2017, so far, land has been identified for 13 of these, Indore being among them. For the remaining 22 locations, respective state governments are yet to identify the land, the ministry said.

In a statement in Lok Sabha, MoRTH said the lands have been identified for Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Nasik in Maharashtra; Hyderabad in Telangana; Bangalore in Karnataka; Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh; Chennai and Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu; Indore in Madhya Pradesh; Patna in Bihar; Guwahati in Assam; and Jammu in Jammu and Kashmir.

WHY MMLPS?

MMLPs lower transportation cost by enabling a seamless modal shift from road to rail and vice versa, reducing handling costs due to presence of best in class modern and mechanised handling infrastructure, and secondary freight costs by co-location of container yard, warehouses, silos, cold storages and value-added services along with custom facility.

MMLPs also benefit from economies of scale by creating shared infrastructure and due to availability of more options for selection of competitive and reliable logistics providers.

The project will improve Logistics efficiency and multimodal connectivity for enhanced efficiency and seamless movement of goods services as envisioned under PM Gati Shakti.

The development of MMLP will create employment opportunity as well as promote the growth of industrial activities.